


Completely Harmless

by Ginny_Zero (Eva_Emaria)



Category: Star Stable
Genre: Canon Rewrite, Dark Core, Focus on Lily, GED - Freeform, Gen, Justin/Alex is mentioned but not central, Melody comes with her own soundtrack though, Mild Language, Non-Canon Relationship, Occasionally Not So Mild Language When Lily Is Mad, So Environmental Pollution But It Gets Fixed, grey morals, so many characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:53:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 89,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24952621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eva_Emaria/pseuds/Ginny_Zero
Summary: When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. This originally started as just an organize and update an area story and then plot happened, so it may seem a bit slow. Compliant up to saving Moorland Stables and then it goes sideways from there. Link to appendixes at the bottom of each chapter. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Updates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.BEWARE SPOILERS FOR THE GAME, ALL YE WHO ENTER HERE. Not everything gets hit at once and things are ordered differently, but there's a lot of story spoilers.
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn’t the way I’d normally write a story/book given how slow the build up is to the main plot. This story is a practice project for my portfolio and my own Horse MMORPG called Mystic Riders. Writing story is the way I organize my thoughts and world build. I chose the Silverglade Manor area because so much of that potential felt untapped to me and there were so many story lines that touched the Manor. I don’t know if I will continue with anything after Completely Harmless (never say never.) Thank you for putting up with my process. 
> 
> Please check out Mystic Riders MMORPG Project if horse game MMOs interest you. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog, https://mysticridersmmo.home.blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

Thomas Moorland had been nice enough and extremely sympathetic when he’d regretfully told them that he couldn’t sell them the horses they were riding. They were the camp’s horses and if he sold every horse that one of his campers got attached to, there’d be none left. They’d pouted, but the man had held firm even though he’d had a twinkle in his eye.

The large group of girls talked among themselves a bit sadly. They did love riding and the horses at the stable.

It was Justin. Thomas’ dark haired son with the soulful eyes that half of the girls in the group had a crush on that saved the day.

Figuratively that is.

“Psst,” he hissed as he peered into the stables.

The girls looked up at him in different stages of untacking their horses.

He grinned at them and bounced in. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms. “Heard you ambushed dear old dad.”

“You don’t have to sound so chipper about it,” Abigail mock pouted.

“Happens every year,” Justin grinned. “A couple keep trying to buy Saga out from under me.”

“You should be complimented. He’s a good horse,” Jennifer said. She patted her horse’s nose.

“He’s my horse!” Justin made a face and stuck out his tongue.

Lily cocked her hip. “Justin Moorland, you either have a trick up your sleeve or you came to torment us.”

Justin smoothed his face. “Torment you. I would never do that.” He put his hand to his heart. “My honor.”

“Loretta does all the tormenting around here,” Melody muttered.

Justin flicked his fingers and held up a folded glossy square of paper. “Ladies, if you truly desire horses, the best in Jorvik, you need to go see old lady battle axe herself, Baroness Annabella Silverglade.”

The girls stopped untacking their horses.

Lily raised a brow. “And what must we do to get there?”

“Stop trying to buy my horse!” Justin flung the folded square at her.

Lily caught it.

The girls giggled.

Justin rubbed the back of his neck. “I heard a rumor that she really could use some help. A friend of mine, Linda, she’s been working for the Baroness, helping run the Equestrian Center. But I’m afraid she’s bit off more than she can chew. Plus, she’s so busy already. Alex isn’t helping much since she comes down here to hang out with Maya so much.”

Maya shouted. “I can hear you!”

“Judy, Tyra, and Pauline are trying to keep things under control, but you know.” Justin shrugged. “Linn is stuck at the Riding Arena, Sonja is supposed to be helping out but she’d rather be in Valedale. Sabine is a bitch.”

“Justin!” Abigail gasped.

Justin smirked at them. “Well? If you want to get there and back before dark, you better be going now.” He waved at them cheekily and trotted off.

Grace huffed. “The _nerve_ of him.”

“Utter cheek!” Melody agreed.

Lily opened the square of paper. It was a map. And Justin had helpfully drawn a red line from Moorland Stables to Silverglade Manor. There was also a few notes written in white ink. One read ‘Grape Mountain,’ and the other, “Loose Paddock.” Grape Mountain was south of the manor and Loose Paddock was north of it. Justin had included a note with an arrow at a broken line also in white. “The Baroness’ personal territory.”

Lily nodded. Justin was right. If they wanted to go out to the manor and get back before dark, they’d better leave now. At least the route seemed mostly clear. Though one bit looked disturbingly off the roads.

The horses seemed a bit astonished that the girls were putting the saddles and bridles back on them. But they were generally good spirited animals and were more than willing to leave the stables again, as long as it was at a placid trot.

The girls weren’t willing to push them either. They chattered at each other about what type of horses the Baroness might have. Some thought Arabians, others English Thoroughbreds, and others droned on about the merits of Hanoverians.

Justin’s route took them up the cliff to Nilmer’s Highland and a sharp right to the north towards Silverglade Village, a place they hadn’t yet explored. But the map said that off to their left, under the disturbing red line, there should be a path near the castle. Well, relatively near the castle. There was a lot of lawn between them and the huge yellow limestone castle on a cliff.

Regina saw it first. “Found it!” She said loudly enough so all could hear but not so loudly it’d spook the horses. They turned off the cobbled road and followed what was little more than a dirt track between some hills.

In the distance, up on a hill, had to be the manor. But it was really far into the distance. Between them and it was lots and lots of green.

“It looks rather impressive,” Lily said.

Their talk drifted to who they should approach. Annabella Silverglade herself? Or this Linda person? Or Judy? They didn’t want to be too much of a bother especially so late in the day.

The track led them to another road, they emerged on it between two birch trees, as the map showed it would. Off to their left and thus, to the south and across the road to the west were rows and rows and rows of grape vines. They grew along the flat parts of the mountain too.

“Oh, I get it,” one of the girls said.

“That can’t be the real name.” Abigail wrinkled her nose.

They turned up the road and noticed that the grapes continued despite the terrain. The road continued skirting a hillock and they came to a bridge. Far to the east they could see the village and realized it must be tucked right up next to the old castle walls. As they crossed the bridge, a dot off to the east (their right) looked like a rather quaint farm. They thought or speculated. There was a silo at least.

The road turned and for a little bit the road was lined with birch trees and grape vines. It was a long way up. They grew nearer to the manor and details emerged. A white stone wall with an iron wrought gate overgrown with weeds. To their left was a terrace also gone to weeds. Ahead of them though, the classical Greek inspired white stoned manor with its large windows and stately columns shaded by birches was impressive. The frieze on the tryptic above the door satyrs frolicking among the grapes and playing harps and pipes.

But overall, to either side of them were large, no huge, gardens gone to seed populated by yet more birch trees.

To the north the stable, or they assumed it was the stable, mimicked the manor house. It was large and long and off center was a columned archway over the roadway with another tryptic with a triangular frieze displaying horses rearing, cantering and trotting. Through this archway they could see a stone bridge. The stable had small individual doors that the top part opened individually on the lower floor and on the upper floor with the flat roof were more open windows showing where the hay was stored.

They assumed they could get into the stable proper through that doorway.

In front of it was a large parade ground with a rather odd symbol tiled into it.

And, to the south, the other large building was a large rectangular thing with a triangular roof instead of a flat one. It reminded them of what the Parthenon was supposed to look like with the long columns down the side of it.

Despite the run down appearance, the place was remarkably busy. Now, they didn’t want to bother the Baroness at all. That wouldn’t be _proper._ She was no doubt a busy woman. So, instead, they looked for _Linda._

However, the first person they found was a girl with black hair that reminded them a lot of the stable manager of Moorland Stables, Jenna. She introduced herself as Judy.

They explained their mission. They wanted to buy horses and Thomas refused to sell them the camp horses and Justin had sent them this way.

Judy shook her head. “Happens _every_ year. Well, you’re in luck. We have a fresh batch of three year olds looking for forever owners. They’re broken enough to ride and all, but they’ll need a great deal of training before you’ll be able to win any championships.

That was fine with the girls.

“Now, I’m going to warn you. These horses are special. They won’t be accepted by just anyone.” Judy said.

The six girls nodded.

“All right, they’re in the stables. May Aideen smile on you,” Judy grinned at them. She waved them towards the long structure.

There was a fence around the parade ground. But no one wanted to tie their horses to it. That wasn’t done. Plus there was nothing for the horses to eat near the parade ground. The girl’s dismounted and loosely tied the camp horses up in the area overrun by the weeds.

They all gasped as they went under the rotunda. It was actually stained glass and parts of it was faceted to throw off rainbows. The stained glass was of course, grape bunches and vines. They went into the shorter section of the stables first.

Inside the stables reflected the _outside_ of the stables. There was cool white stone under their feet and the walls of the stable had been bleached white and had a silver sheen where the pattern of the wood was. Each stable wall topped with the delicate iron work like the gates.

But inside these pretty stalls were the _prettiest_ horses the girls had ever seen. They had delicate heads and long flowing wavy manes and tails.

No one could restrain their squeals.

They didn’t run. They didn’t want to scare the beautiful creatures. But they certainly all walked quickly to the different stalls fishing out cubes of sugar and holding out hands to try and make _friends._

A dark brown girl in a bright orchid t-shirt that read Knights of Unistria and black shorts laughed. “You must be new here. These are Jorvik Warmblood Sports, Jorvik’s best kept secret. I’m Linda.” She seemed friendly enough.

Lily was the leader. “Oh, we heard you worked here. I’m Lily and these are my friends Abigail, Grace, Regina, Melody, and Jennifer.” She gestured at each of the girls. “We’re, um, campers.”

“Obviously,” Regina rolled her eyes. They all wore the camp uniform after all, red t-shirt, grey fingerless gloves, brown riding pants, black riding boots and a black helmet. It was dreadfully unstylish.

Linda smiled at them and pushed her glasses up her nose. A bay horse with a white blaze down his nose and a white mane and tail huffed into her hair. She reached up to pet his neck absentmindedly. “And this is Meteor, the constantly starving.”

Meteor had the same nose shape and body structure as the horses in the stables. Though he was bigger and his hair wasn’t nearly as long.

“He’s handsome,” Grace said. “Is he yours?”

“More like, I’m his,” Linda wrinkled her nose.

“Oh, like cats,” Melody giggled.

“We’re here to become owned too, or something,” Jennifer waved her hand around.

Linda sighed. “Did Justin send you?”

“He gave us a map and everything.”

“Is it really Grape Mountain?”

“No. That’s him being cheeky.” Linda huffed. She tugged on her pony tail. “All the horses here are for sale, it’s true. In fact, if we don’t sell them. We’ll have to cull them. We simply don’t have the resources right now to look after them all. They’re in here for their final checkups.” Her face fell. “And it’s not really fair to release them into the wild. I mean, maybe they’d be all right.” She bit her lip. “So, they’re really cheap, three hundred shillings each. The Baroness is simply at her wits end and so am I.”

The girls looked at each other and looked around the barn. It seemed clean enough, but it probably could be cleaner.

“Thanks Linda,” Lily said before anyone else could. “That’s, a lot better of a deal than we expected.”

Linda twiddled her fingers. “Look, I have to run. If you have any questions, talk to Judy or Tyra. They know everything there is to know about the stables and Jorvik Warmblood Sports.”

“Not Sabine,” Grace said shrewdly.

Linda blinked. “Sabine’s a _boarder._ She doesn’t work here. She likes to make everyone think she does.”

“Good to know. We’ll be on our guard.” Lily saluted.

Linda smiled again. “All right. Good luck!” She said and trotted out.

“Huddle,” Jennifer said.

The girls gathered into a circle.

“Okay, something is definitely going on here.” Lily rubbed her chin.

Abigail groaned. “I’d do anything, and I do mean, anything, to get away from Loretta.”

“But, but, _camp,_ ” Grace hissed.

“Look, if this Baroness is as important as Justin implied she is,” Regina murmured. “I don’t think Old Man Thomas is going to mind us coming to help her out.”

“He might reward us,” Abigail bounced on her toes.

Jennifer sighed. “And riding around the cavaletti in a circle is so _dull._ ”

Grace wrinkled her nose. “And the Bobcat race is, look, okay, Tan and Loretta are full of it and the other girls don’t want to lift a finger if it involves actually doing anything that might scuff their nails. They want us to be Bobcats to do their dirty work.”

Lily held up a finger. She jogged out of the stable and flagged down Judy who had a clipboard. “Judy, I have a question. It might seem _odd._ ”

Judy widened her eyes. “Ohkay?”

“Does this stable have a dedicated _riding club?_ _”_

Judy opened and shut her mouth. “No. If we did, we probably wouldn’t be in this state.”

Lily beamed at her. “Thanks, Judy.” She turned around and jogged off leaving a very bemused and confused Judy behind her.

Lily returned to the huddle. “Good news. No riding club!”

The girls jaw dropped.

“No club? Really? This gorgeous stable is ripe for the _taking._ ” Regina’s voice turned fervent.

“This is _not_ Pokemon Go!” Jennifer glared at her.

Lily tossed her hair. “Girls. I have an idea.”

Abigail pounded her fist into her hand. “Let’s show up Loretta.”

Grace’s lips parted. “Form our own riding club,” she breathed.

“And claim the SEC for our own and _rule!_ _”_ Regina pumped her fist into the air.

Lily smirked. “Exactly. So, let’s get some horses, recruit Tyra, Pauline, and Linn. The map says the Riding Hall is behind the manor, recruit more if we need to back in Moorland, and take Loretta and her Bobcat girls _down._ ”

“Break,” Jennifer said.

They girls moved apart and scattered across the stables to look at the different horses. There were plain horses without markings, and those with; appaloosas, dapples, paint horses. There were those with the fancy coat genes too, cremellos, buckskins, and roans.

It wasn’t like they fell in love with the horses, because they did. But it was also like the horses fell in love with them.

With their shillings in hand they tracked down Judy and handed it all over.

Judy beamed at them. “Oh, thank you, thank you _so much._ ”

“No. Thank you,” Lily said with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	2. Chapter 2

Grace, Jennifer, and Melody all volunteered to take the new horses back to Moorland. That left Lily, Regina, and Abigail to talk to the three girls at the stable.

“Take the transport back to Moorland,” Lily said as she mounted her horse. She had the map, so, she’d volunteered to go to the Riding Arena.

“Will do boss,” Regina saluted.

Abigail rolled her eyes.

Lily rode off through the arch, Abigail on her heels.

Regina found her target the easiest. “Hallo!” She waved at the girl in a t-shirt wielding a shovel. “You must be Tyra.”

Tyra set her shovel down and leaned on it. “I am,” she said slowly.

“Excellent,” Regina rubbed her hands together.

Tyra eyed her oddly.

Regina stopped pretending she was the bowler hat dude from Meet the Robinsons. “Tyra, my friends and I couldn’t help but notice that you seem a bit understaffed here.”

Tyra groaned. “Oh, yeah, with the Baroness trying to build a real oval track and the GED _illegally_ mind you setting up oil rigs in our paddock, plus it’s the middle of eventing season. Everyone is trying to beat the qualifiers to get to the big competition way up North. So, they’re running around everywhere, demanding their horses, and taking up all the best riding trails.”

“Funny, we aren’t having that problem in Moorland.”

“Moorland is a camp for _beginners._ ” Tyra rolled her eyes. “And, _camp,_ your problem is _campers._ ”

“And Loretta,” Regina said.

Tyra sighed. “And Loretta,” she huffed. “Would you believe that she denied me entry into the Bobcat Girls on the basis that I don’t work for Moorland Stables? I mean, what is her excuse about denying Maya then! Maya works at Moorland. But noo.”

Regina leaned closer. “Well, here is the thing. My friends, we want to start a riding club, but, you know _Loretta._ She has to be Miss Queen Cat. But we need someone who knows the inside scoop on where we settle. And Judy said this place doesn’t have a club,” she trailed off.

Tyra glanced around. “Sabine wants to start one.”

“Look, if we get to the register and have our names in and our stable tomorrow morning,” Regina said. “Can Sabine get that done that fast?”

“Not if she doesn’t catch wind of it.”

“All we have to do is reserve the stable and put in our names we’re forming a Club. We don’t even have to name it or choose colors yet.” Regina bit her lip.

“Okay, I’m definitely interested. Look, this is a heavy and I mean, heavy, show jumping and dressage stable. Linda is like, a show jumping _champion._ Jorvik Stables might have had Anne Von Blowhard.”

Regina sputtered. That couldn’t be the girl’s real name.

“But now we have Linda,” Tyra waved her hand. “Our reputation isn’t as good but I know the Baroness wants to change that. She and Herman have a little bet going about this track of hers, something about some old wine bottle in the cellar Herman wants and she won’t give up. He has to earn it.”

“I’ll tell the others. Dressage and show jumping. Though, Lily is on the way to the arena.”

“Then Linn will definitely set her straight. If we can attract some real talent to the stables, like, like Reed Kessler,” Tyra breathed. “Then, well, Loretta’s show jumping chops are over. Though, she is better at dressage.”

“So, I’ll put you down as a yes?” Regina asked.

“Absolutely.”

Regina beamed. “Then, I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, thank god. Because, tomorrow, this place is going to be filthy.”

Regina made a face. Anything to win a gym, er, stable. “Well, what are friends for? Anyways, we’ll need to do a lot of planning and what better way to do that than by mucking out stables.”

Tyra tilted her head. “You aren’t wrong.”

Regina nudged her horse and waved to the girl.

Tyra waved back.

In the first terrace, another overgrown flower garden from the looks of it, overlooking the side of the grape strewn mountain, Abigail found Pauline.

“Hi!” Abigail said. “I’m looking for Pauline.”

“You found her. That’s me. I mean.”

“I’m Abigail,” she said and swung down off the horse. “What are you doing hanging out here?”

“Well, I’ve been chased out of the riding arena and the oval paddock, so my only choice I guess right now if I want any sort of cross country races at the manor is to use the old gardens and the vineyards.” Pauline sighed. “I was trying to figure out a track.”

“Probably would be more helpful if you had more people to work on it,” Abigail said.

“You want to see what I’ve figured out?” Pauline asked.

“Sure,” Abigail said.

Pauline pulled out a homemade map, unfolded it and pointed out the trails she thought might be good. “They aren’t too difficult. I’m simply bored and if I can’t ride my usual places.”

“Will the Baroness get mad?”

“Only if we trample the grapes and we shouldn’t. I made sure of that!” Pauline said.

“They look harder than the Bobcat tracks.”

Pauline scoffed. “Oh, the _Bobcats._ ” Her eyes narrowed. “You must be from the camp. Sorry, should have recognized the outfit Thomas, I mean Mr. Moorland, gives everyone.”

“Do you know a lot about setting up race tracks?”

“Oh yeah, loads. I have books and stuff about the rules and examples of famous ones,” Pauline stopped. “Oh, you probably don’t care,” she mumbled.

“Have you ever thought of being a race master?”

“You mean, of a club?” Pauline blinked. “There’s no club here. There’s no club that wants to be here, outside of Sabine. Have you _looked_ at this place? It’s a dump. I know the Baroness is getting old, but usually she gets things done. I heard her gardener quit or was run off a few years back and she didn’t replace them, the handy man disappeared. Her son isn’t responding to her. Anastasia just doesn’t care.”

“Good grief, that’s awful. Sounds like someone needs to take things in hand.”

“I’ll say,” Pauline shoved her map away. “Carney’s all right and all, but he’s more about soil tests and the grapes’ health. He’s got two left thumbs when it comes to machines and I wouldn’t trust his inventions not to explode.”

Abigail bit her lip. “I like your races, Pauline,” she said. “You know the area and that’s important.” She slapped her forehead. “Oh, right, I almost forgot. My friends and I are putting in the initial paperwork and money to start a club. We don’t want it to be in Moorland. Can’t step on Loretta’s toes.”

“You form a club, you step on her toes. She’ll deny it through her teeth though.”

“Well, you said no one wants to be here other than Sabine.”

“Who is worse than Loretta if you can believe it?”

“And we don’t have a race master. Would you be our race master?”

Pauline’s face lit up. “You _mean it?_ _”_

“Absolutely.”

Pauline jumped and hugged her. “Oh, that is like, beyond wicked cool. Yes. Yes.” She abruptly let Abigail go. “I mean. I am _so sorry._ Yes, I’ll be the race master for your club.”

Abigail laughed and hugged Pauline. “The hugging was fine. Okay, I’ll put you down as local terrain and racing conditions expert!”

Pauline grinned. Then she sobered. “But Sabine.”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Pauline wiped a hand across her brow. “Sabine can’t convince anyone to follow her, but we all worry. That is Tyra, Linn, and I.”

“Worry no more. There is going to be a Club at the SEC,” Abigail said firmly.

Pauline looked like she might faint she was so happy. “Can I tell Tyra?”

“Sure, just keep it quiet.”

Pauline looked ready to burst. But, she nodded. With a happy wave at Abigail, she ran off.

That left one person, Linn, at the Riding Arena.

While Regina and Abigail were reeling in their targets like the fine fisherwomen they were, Lily rode around the manor towards the back where the map she had said the riding arena happened to be. To her left was the mountain covered in grapes and to her right she passed an old garden overgrown with grass. It had a path that split off in two directions, one led up over a bridge to a riding paddock, and the other led under the bridge to someplace unknown.

Not having time to explore, Lily rode on, between the side of the mountain and an up jutting rock that had been carved strangely enough in imitation Arch De Triumph and formed a geographically implausible chasm. The path curved and went steeply _down._ A huge building loomed at the base of the steep cliff.

Looking down, Lily realized the path curved again to make room for the terraced, tree strewn gardens that cut down from the cliff to form more steps. At the base of the cliff was another parade ground, this one more traditional, the patterned stones quartering it off, right in front of a Riding Arena.

It had the same features as the rest of the Manor even though it was cut off from the rest of it by the cliff side hanging gardens. The windows were paned glass. The walls a white stone with corners of a grey stone cut in blocks. It was laid out like any other arena though. As she got to the bottom, she found the doors still open and the lights on inside. Music wafted on the breeze from the river behind the arena. More neglected gardens curved around the side.

The large door had another frieze, more horses. And the airlock like door had fake columns down the side with urns set between them. But they were empty, like all the other urns Lily had seen.

Lily followed the music to the right hand side, set up to be a show jumping course. Some late riders were still going. She nudged her horse over to the girl holding a stop watch.

The girl looked up and smiled at her but didn’t say anything.

Lily waited. It was only polite.

A girl finished, she wore a red show jumping jacket and she looked haughty. Her black hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Linn called out her time, and the girl’s name. Sabine.

Sabine sniffed and urged her horse out at a trot.

Linn made a face at her back. She looked up at Lily and smiled. “May I help you? Are you lost?”

“So, that’s the infamous Sabine,” Lily said.

“Um, yeah,” Linn winced. “I’m not supposed to,” she trailed off.

“Been warned, thus, infamous,” Lily smiled at her.

“Oh _phew._ I didn’t want to be the one,” Linn shook her head.

“I’m Lily,” Lily stuck out her hand. “I’d get off, but I do need to get back to Moorland.”

“I’m Linn. Do you need directions?”

“Nah. I’ll take the transport. But I do want to keep this quick.”

Linn widened her eyes. She glanced around the arena. “You can have a go if you like.”

Lily patted her horse’s side. “We’ve had a full day of exercise already. Let me get straight to the point. My friends and I want to start a club. We’re going to put in papers tomorrow and want to put in for Silverglade Equestrian Center. However, only if we have a few locals joining us.”

Linn looked around. She put a hand on her chest. “Me?”

“Is Sabine local?”

“No.”

“Has Sabine asked you to join her club?”

“Me, a lowly time keeper?” Linn snorted. “Are you mental?”

“Then, you, unless there’s someone hiding out here invisible.”

“You don’t know me at all.”

“Justin vouches for you.”

“Well, Justin, you know his judge of character isn’t always that great,” Linn snorted.

Lily raised a brow.

“Okay, but, um, you do know that the Baroness has this regulation outfit and gear for any Club that wants to form in her stable. It’s sort of the reason that most of them don’t want to do it once they find out.”

“Is it that bad?”

“No. No. It’s purple and white. She _adores_ purple. It has this cute satin windbreaker and white pleated skirt and even top hats!”

“I’m not seeing a problem.”

“If you’re sure.” She said slowly.

“I’m not seeing a problem with purple,” Lily said.

Linn bit her lip. She pulled out her phone and showed Lily the pictures.

“Still not seeing a problem. Are you in or out?”

“Okay, I’m in. But Tyra and Pauline have to be in too,” Linn blurted.

“We’re talking to them.”

Linn’s eyes widened. “Ohkay, if they are in. I’m in.”

“Right. Let you know first thing tomorrow.” Lily said and held out her hand again.

Linn shook it. “Tomorrow.”

Lily grinned and she left for the transport. It was time to get to Moorland.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	3. Chapter 3

That evening, when four girls rushed out to coo over the new horses, as the first to be excited about the Jorvik Warmblood Sports, they were the first invited to join the new club. There was Elsa, Brittany, Theresa, and Stacy. That made 13 club members and while Melody muttered about it being unlucky, Lily thought it was a fine number.

That night at their bunks, Lily warned them in a low voice about the Baroness’ expectations for their uniform. But no one seemed upset, it wasn’t _pink._ So, they pooled their money and the next morning right after breakfast, they went and registered their club with the Club Manager.

Then, all ten girls, ambushed Thomas again.

Justin saw them, bent over and tried not to bust his gut laughing.

“Mr. Moorland, Mr. Moorland,” they said speaking over each other.

“Girls, girls!” Thomas held up a hand. “One at a time.”

Lily spoke first then. “Mr. Moorland, our friends they want to buy horses too. And the horses at the Equestrian Center are ever so friendly and so nice that I hoped to take them over to have a look if that’s okay with you. If those horses aren’t bought, something awful is going to happen. I just know it.”

Thomas face turned dismayed.

“There’s too many of them this year, you see,” Regina explained.

“Too many?” He breathed. “What has she been up to?”

“And Mr. Moorland,” Grace said. “Poor Tyra, she’s plum overwhelmed she is. With no one but her and maybe Pauline and Linn to clean out the stables. But Linn might be needed at the Arena early.”

Jennifer smiled. “We thought we’d go and help.”

Thomas sputtered. He looked back and forth between all the girls and if Lily didn’t know better, she thought he was about to cry. “Why girls, that’s, that’s the nicest thing that I ever did hear. You go on. I’ll phone Linda and tell her that you’re coming. She’ll be so pleased.”

“Thank you, Mr. Moorland,” they chorused and headed in a large group at a trot.

Lily made certain to wave at a very baffled Tan and Loretta.

So, they were a large group that showed up at the manor with the early morning sun beating down on their black helmets and hard to tell apart in their red orange t-shirts.

Linda waved at them and rubbed her forehead. “Um, well, hi! Uh, I wasn’t expecting a horde. Mr. Moorland said a few.”

“A few is more than three,” Elsa said in a monotone type of voice.

Jennifer made a point to look around at all the people leading their horses about or riding through the manor grounds from one place to another.

Linda smiled broadly. “Well, I appreciate it. I do. Judy and the girls know where everything is.”

Tyra rounded the corner of the stable. Her jaw dropped. “You, you came back!”

“We said we would,” Abigail beamed at her.

Behind her, Linn and Pauline almost ran into her back.

Lily waved the paper. “And we have paperwork!”

Pauline squealed and hugged Linn jumping up and down.

“Pauline, can’t breathe,” Linn mock gasped.

Tyra lit up. “Well, we keep all our equipment in this shed by the back wall.”

“She calls it a shed,” Linn rolled her eyes.

“So, if we can get all the outside chores done quickly, the inside will be done that much faster!” Tyra said and then glared at Linn. “For this place, it’s a shed.”

“Well, where should we put the horses?”

“Hmm, better keep them in the garden area for now,” Tyra gestured.

“These four want their own horses,” Regina put her arms around two of the four new girls. “So, we’ll go take care of that.”

Tyra nodded and the rest of them headed off towards the back wall, where there was as Tyra said a smaller building. It was not by any definition of the term a _shed._ It was based on a small Roman temple and there was a big engine right behind it.

“This is our tool shed cum hay dryer. If one of you can get some oil from the big drum behind the table near the transport,” Tyra started.

“On it!” One girl saluted, grabbed the oil can and ran off.

“I’ll help,” said another and ran after her. “It’ll be heavy.” They ran between what looked like a string of greek revival houses strung together to make an inn or something and the stable wall.

“And if we move this dry hay over to the stables, we can heave it up to the top floor.”

More girls volunteered.

Tyra opened the door and passed armfuls of shovels, pitchforks, buckets filled with hoof picks and brushes to the girls. “These really should be moved to the tack room, but it’s not secure. Once these are out, we can fill this back up with hay and let the hay dryer do its job while we clean.”

Hoses were dragged out.

Buckets got filled. They pitchforked, they shoveled, they cleaned the stable down to the floor, made sure every feed rack and water trough was filled and the horses brushed out and their hooves cleaned. They pulled out the mats, and hung them on the fence of the Northern Paddock. They had to cross a bridge to do it, but they couldn’t have the mats out in front of the Manor, now could they? They hosed them down, and left them to dry. The hose actually went that far, a miracle. They had to crank it out.

All the while they talked about the Equestrian Center and what they wanted out of their club. They didn’t have a choice about the uniforms, purple it was for colors. But they couldn’t decide on a name.

“They had to take the good ones.” Regina scowled.

“Something will turn up,” Lily said and wiped her brow with the back of her arm. “It always does.”

By the time they were finished with everything, the mats had dried so they were able to return them to the stables and put out fresh hay from they had they’d just thrown up into the loft!

The thirteen girls looked over the stable in satisfaction. It hadn’t been so clean in months.

“I think we can be proud to have horses in here again,” Linn said.

Her phone buzzed. She groaned. “Ugh, _Sabine._ She wants someone to time her at the Arena. Later!”

“I think we should be Silver something.”

“Foxes?”

“Do you _see_ any foxes around here?”

“Silver is a good idea. I think the Baroness would like that,” Tyra said. “Uh, have you told her yet?”

“Um, no, we wanted to have a name.”

“And uniforms.”

“And uniforms,” several agreed.

“I mean, not to be pushy on her, but it might be better if we _looked_ ready to follow her rules.”

“That’s actually a _great_ idea.” Tyra nodded. “So, have you talked to Mr. Moorland about switching stables?”

“We told Mr. Moorland we were helping.”

“One thing at a time!”

Jennifer clapped her hands. “Recon!” She said.

“Um, she means we need a tour. See what we have to work with to make this a premiere riding club.”

“Ohhh,” Tyra nodded slowly. “All right, gotcha. Well, we have the _best_ space for club meetings, the Baroness lets the Silverglade Club use her rooftop mezzanine garden. If it’s cold or too rainy, we can camp out in her library.”

“Books!” One girl squealed.

“Let me show you!” Tyra raised her arm and pointed. “Vamanos!”

They walked in a big group past the front the huge manor and around the corner.

One girl gasped. “Why, why is the fountain dry?”

“Bad pipes,” Pauline sighed. “Really, really bad pipes.”

There was a large empty reflecting fountain between the manor and the other large building.

“That’s the winery itself, there’s supposed to be a tapas bar, tourist shop type of thing in it. But um, staffing troubles. Underneath is all the controls for the machines and the kegged wine. Plus the really good stuff from other vineyards and the best Silverglade vintages in a temperature and humidity controlled safe. They take it very seriously.” Tyra said.

“What’s that?” Grace asked pointing at yet another building that was again sort of near the back wall of the manor.

“Oh, well, it’s supposed to, um, not sure.” Tyra scratched her head. “Pauline?”

“Gazebo?”

“Looks like a temple to me,” Theresa said.

“Well, no one uses it.” Tyra shrugged. “Could be anything. Here we are,” she said. She opened a side door. It led to a side foyer that had beautiful doors leading off in all three directions, they all had glass and were probably locked, and the staircase. She led them up a stair case that turned every ten steps.

The girls oohed and aahed at the view.

“Why does no one use this?”

“There was some noise about making it a full service restaurant, but nothing ever came of it.” Pauline said.

Lily leaned against the north east corner and looked out. “You said GED was here illegally? Why can they pump then?”

“The Baroness contacted her son Aaron,” Tyra explained.

“Because Anastasia isn’t good for anything,” Pauline muttered.

“And he hasn’t gotten back yet. And she’s so _busy,_ she can’t go check on him herself.”

“He’s a bit useless if you ask me.” Pauline added.

Lily frowned. She turned around and rested her elbows on the roof edge. “If we’re going to make this the best stable in the area, then we’re going to have to get things moving around here.”

“Oh come on, Lily. What can we do?” Grace rolled her eyes.

“Get some chairs up here for one,” Stacy said.

“We told Mr. Moorland that we were going to help the Baroness out. We didn’t say how long that would take.” Lily said.

“No more Loretta!” Abigail shouted.

“And after a couple of days, we can sweet talk him into letting us leave so not to wear out the horses going to and fro,” Regina pointed out. “By then, we can make ourselves indispensable to the Baroness.”

“Find a mechanic. Find a _gardener._ Find a bartender and a chef,” Lily pressed her fingers down on her hand. “Get in touch with Aaron and find out what’s going on with those rigs.”

“Find out what is going on with those rigs period,” Regina said. “They’re in our territory now.”

Grace groaned. “We are going to get so in much trouble.”

“Look, we’re a bunch of airheaded stable girls helping out,” Abigail fluttered her eyelashes. “We’re nothing but a bunch of school aged teenagers. What harm could we be?”

Regina cracked her knuckles.

Grace sighed.

“All right. But I want a plan,” Jennifer said. “A _good_ one.”

“Step one,” Lily said. “Find out where we can buy the uniform that the Baroness wants.”

“And definitely get some muck pants and new t-shirts for cleaning out,” Abigail made a face.

Tyra raised her phone. “It’s at a shop in Silverglade Village.”

“Does this Silverglade Village have an actual café,” Stacy asked.

“Yep,” Pauline grinned.

“Then have Linn meet us there and let’s do lunch!” Lily said.

“To the horses!” Jennifer pointed and charged away.

* * *

The four new girls took the camp horses back to Moorland before swinging back to meet them on the outskirts of Silverglade village at an outdoor café. They claimed the chairs and pushed tables together hunching over their pizza slices and sodas. They bent their heads over their phones and tried to hash out a plan.

“So, we need to go to Jorvik City. Easy.” Tyra said. “Buy a bus pass and leave from Fort Pinta. Aaron and Anastasia will have the contacts to get us the people we need to start getting the Manor tip top.”

“Tickety boo,” Grace said.

“And if we’re wearing the uniform,” Theresa said.

“He won’t question.”

“We can’t all go.”

“Well, before we get uniformed up. We really should check out this oil field they’ve got going in the paddock.”

Pauline picked mushrooms off her pizza slices and ate them. “Steve’s got a great second hand shop. Pick up an inoffensive t-shirt that doesn’t scream shoot me now from fifty feet away.”

The girls all groaned.

“And like you said, we’re stable girls looking for lost horses.” Pauline smirked.

They finished their food and had ice cream before cleaning their fingers off and going shopping.

“You said inoffensive?” Elsa raised her brow. She held up a pair of raspberry and magenta abstract camo pants. “How is this inoffensive?”

“They’re cheap,” Tyra pointed out.

Elsa dropped them and shuddered.

They did find t-shirts but not muck pants or boots. And they all were able to buy the Silverglade Clan Outfit. Linn’s phone buzzed, Sabine again. She sighed and rolled her eyes.

“Does that girl ever rest?” She scowled. “Okay, catch up with you later. Tell me how it goes. Tell me _everything._ ”

Pauline volunteered to go with Lily and Regina to Jorvik City. She didn’t have anything to do really.

“And since I’m a known stable girl,” Tyra smirked.

“We’ve got this,” Abigail grinned.

They changed clothes. Though there was some grumbling about not washing things first. And because they were going by bus, they didn’t have to buy the saddles and stuff just yet.

“I want to talk to Anastasia,” Tyra tugged on the satin jacket. “Rumor has it, she and the Baroness had a big row about how she spent her money on too many clothes.”

Lily tugged on her hat. “Sounds fair to me.”

They rode by the roads to Fort Pinta. Tyra pointed out the Golden Fields.

“They used to be filled with golden flowers.”

“What happened?”

“Don’t know,” Tyra shrugged. She waved at a girl near a ruin. “That’s Mary. She herds sheep.”

Lily leaned over. “As in Mary had a little lamb,” she asked.

“Oh, that’s the one.”

Tyra already had a ticket. So, Lily bought ten of them. One for each of the girls going to Moorland camp. They’d already passed her the money to do so. They left their horses at the Fort Pinta stables. Tyra grumbled about what James was charging just for a few hours.

Lily shook her head and they headed to the bus stop.

Tyra pulled out her phone again and started searching. “Okay, so, two figures like Aaron and Anastasia can’t go anywhere without being noticed. They’re a big deal. Almost as big as Anne’s family, or the Ironsaddles. The Winterwells can’t compare. All right, Aaron is at the ice cream shop. And Anastasia, oh, this is good, the mall having coffee with her dog.”

Tyra showed Lily a picture of the dog. It was a teacup pup type in a pink tutu.

“Spoiled,” was all Lily said.

“Aaron probably won’t leave for hours. He loves ice cream,” Tyra confided. “It’s in all the blogs.” She showed Lily Aaron’s blog with almost every third or fourth picture being some ice cream concoction. “If he’s not there, he’ll be in Aideen’s Plaza.”

Lily nodded. She trusted Tyra.

Tyra twisted. “Do you want me to handle Anastasia or do you want to do it?”

“You do know her better.”

“But you’re more of the leader. All you have to do is flatter her and make nice to the dog. She’ll be willing to be played.”

Lily bit her lip. “Okay, new club, want to bring the area up to date and have an image that goes viral?”

“Perfect!” Tyra said.

They raised hands and slapped them together.

Lily thought it over and she had a perfect idea. “We’re going to have to bring back coffee.”

“Make it iced. They’re going to need it.”

Lily cringed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	4. Chapter 4

The oil rigs were camped out in the eastern portion of the paddock, and infuriatingly enough, had jumped the fence and gone into the Baroness’ stretch of absolutely useless lawns.

The girls changed their shirts in the tack room stuffing the red orange ones into their saddle bags.

“We shouldn’t let them see all of us,” Tyra murmured.

“Split up. We’re looking for horses.”

“Checking the fences,” Melody suggested.

“Oh, good one,” Regina nodded.

So, they split into three groups. Two to ride along the edge to check the fences of three each, and the main group with Tyra boldly strolling through the field towards the oil rigs to call for the ‘missing’ horses.

The oil rigs clanged and banged.

Regina shuddered. “No horse would want to get near that.”

“It’s awful,” Abigail breathed. “Look, they aren’t even being responsible. Look at the oil on the ground.”

Tyra looked grim. “Yeah.”

“Hey!” Someone shouted.

Abigail hissed. “Mr. Kemball.”

Regina nudged her. “Oh, Mr. Kemball. What are you doing here?”

Mr. Kemball glared at them. His face turned red. “None of your business. What are you doing here? This is a restricted area and off limits.”

Abigail’s lips parted slightly. “It’s a horse paddock.”

“We’re stable girls.” Regina gestured up and down at Elsa’s outfit. “Looking for lost horses.”

“Well, there aren’t any around here.”

“How do you know? Have you looked?” Abigail put her hands on her hips.

“Sorry, Mr. Kemball, but we are missing a few horses from the herd,” Tyra said without a trace of apology in her voice. “We’re going to have to look around to make sure they’re not at this end of the paddock or hurt.”

Mr. Kemball ground his teeth.

“Mr. Kemball!” One of the workers jogged up. “Mr. Kemball, there’s a group of girls,” he trailed off as he saw the group of girls standing in front of Mr. Kemball with arms crossed or hands on their hips. “Inspecting the fence,” he finished weakly.

Tyra raised a brow. “This is a _working_ stable. Things have to be inspected.”

“I’m sure Mr. Kemball can appreciate that,” Elsa said and her voice was actually sweet.

Mr. Kemball glared at them. “You girls are up to something.”

“Yeah, looking for lost horses,” Regina said. “That’s something all right. You know, doing our jobs.”

Mr. Kemball’s eyes narrowed. “I know you girls,” he said. He peered at them. “You’re those stable girls from Moorland.”

“There are lots of stable girls in Moorland, Mr. Kemball. I mean, Jorvik has a horse based economy. There are lots of stable girls everywhere.” Regina rolled her eyes.

Mr. Kemball was about to say more.

“Tyra, Tyra!” Melody rode up. She looked _livid._ “You won’t believe it. These, these,” she glared at Kemball and the workers. “They’ve torn down part of the fence. The missing horses might be all the way to the Hollow Woods by now.”

Tyra’s eyes widened. “You did what!” She shouted at Mr. Kemball.

“I’m off to tell Judy and Linda.” Melody nudged her horse’s side. The horse took off at a canter.

“The Baroness _will_ hear about this, Kemball,” Tyra grated out. “That is beyond a breech in the agreement.”

Mr. Kemball snorted. “I have the best lawyers in Jorvik.”

“You’re going to need them,” Tyra said in a low voice.

Abigail and Regina threw him a look of disgust. Elsa looked disdainful.

“Come on girls, enough chatting.” Tyra gestured. They marched off into the oil rigs.

The worker sputtered. “Aren’t you going to stop them?”

“Me? That’s your jobs,” Kemball shouted. “Go on. Make sure they don’t do anything stupid like they did back in Moorland.”

Tyra lowered her voice. “What happened in Moorland?”

Abigail answered just as quietly. “Thomas mislaid the deed to the stable. Mr. Kemball was trying to claim eminent domain or something. Like, Thomas couldn’t prove he owned the land without the deed. So, we tracked it down and made sure it got into the right hands. Kemball had to back off and close shop. The camp is in the black. Thomas just sucks at paperwork. Apparently, Catherine handled that part of it and when Mrs. Holdsworth, who was doing it as a favor, retired.”

Tyra groaned. “He didn’t hire a replacement.”

“Yep,” Regina said.

“Soo, there’s now a replacement.” Abigail rolled her eyes. “And Justin is learning to do it too.”

“Who is the replacement?”

“Loretta,” Regina chirped. “I mean, she’s a bitch, but she’s great at paperwork.”

“Plus, she wants to impress Justin,” Abigail smirked. “Lily thought it was a streak of genius.”

Tyra sputtered. “Oh, my, goddess. That’s perfect.”

“He’s a scuz,” Elsa said.

Regina bit her lip. “I have an idea.”

“Oh?” Abigail said.

“Elsa said it. He’s a scuz. So, where did Mr. Kemball get these rigs anyways?” Regina gestured.

“To know that, we’d need their numbers,” Abigail scratched her neck.

Tyra glanced behind her. “We’re being followed. If we stop to inspect the rigs, he’ll notice.”

“Then, you three provide a distraction. I’ll hang back as he follows you and get pictures. Even if the numbers are scratched off, that’s something,” Regina said.

“You watch way too many crime procedurals.” Abigail raised her brow.

Tyra nodded. “I like it though.”

Elsa spoke up. “Take pictures and text me the numbers,” she said, fingers working on her phone. “We’re going to have our distraction in,” she said. “Well, now.”

A horse whinnied and ran full out past them, one of the other girl’s from another group’s horse.

“Come back!” Grace shouted and ran after it.

“We’ll head him off!” Tyra shouted at her.

So, the three girls ran to head the horse off.

Regina ran with them, sort of. She kept an eye on the worker who was supposed to be following them around. And glanced around for the others. Once he was thoroughly distracted by the other girls, she found the number to the nearest rig, snapped a picture and texted the string to Elsa.

They weren’t really trying to catch the horse, but they herded it around the area so Regina could get pictures of every rig’s number. She texted instructions to Elsa.

“He’s gone through the fence,” Elsa shouted a few seconds later.

By now, the commotion had gathered all the workers who stood around staring as the girls chased the young stallion around. The stallion was having _tons_ of fun.

Regina got a picture of the last one. “Done,” she texted.

Brittany sidled up over to her. “Oh, ho, ho, what have you been up to?”

“Spy shit.” Regina said. Then she got a look at Brittany. “Holy moly, Brit. You’re filthy.”

Brittany pressed her lips together. “I’m headed back to the stables. There are _ducks_ caught in the oil. And we can’t get a good grip on them to get them out. They’re filthy and slippery and thrash about. I sent pictures to Linda. She suggested some bread and is gathering up old dirty towels for us to wrap them up into.”

“Seriously?” Regina hissed.

“There’s a vet at Silverglade.”

“Well, I know some of us are going to have to ride out to Everwind Fields and the Hollow Woods for real to check if there are any missing horses. But the rest of us can help you with the ducks.”

Brittany relaxed. “Thanks. I hate this. I hate it. There’s got to be an _ethical_ way to do this that doesn’t hurt wildlife.”

“Of course there is, he doesn’t give a shit.” Regina wrapped her arm around Brittany.

Melody came back. “Okay, tell Tyra I’m off to Firgrove. Apparently, Felicity has some fencing they usually use for sheep to patch up the fence until we can get it fixed for realsies.”

“Whenever that is going to happen,” Regina grumbled.

“Linda was off to tell the Baroness, she’s furious.”

“Grab a transport back.”

“Oh, I planned on it,” Melody said fiercely. She rode off going for the nearest road that would lead her to Firgrove.

“I better get to Linda,” Brittany said.

“Poor girl. We’re giving her so much more to do.” Regina said.

Brittany nudged her in the side.

Regina let her go and trotted off to tell Tyra where Melody was going. It looked like there was work to do. Her fingers worked at her phone. Lily needed those pictures ASAP.

* * *

Lily felt her phone buzz. She took it out of her pocket. Her eyes widened at the sheer number of messages on it. “Woah,” she said and opened them up scroll through them. “They’re being busy. They got into a confrontation with Mr. Kemball!”

Pauline squeaked.

“Jorvik City Mall, next stop,” the speakers said.

Lily skimmed the messages and the photos. “We have stuff to show to Aaron.”

“Then he better be able to do something,” Pauline said fiercely.

The bus pulled up in front of the mall. The two got out and Lily tucked her phone away as they passed a disapproving looking janitor and headed straight for the coffee shop.

“Oh my,” Anastasia, or so Lily assumed, Silverglade said, “I haven’t seen that tired old outfit in ages.”

Lily took off her hat. She brushed her hand over her hair. “Anastasia, Anastasia Silverglade?” She managed a convincing breathy shocked sound. “Oh, oh my heavens, I’ve heard so much about you. I mean, I follow your Jorvikgram for your fashion advice. Just, just, wow, so honored.” She held out her hand. “And your dog is even more adorable in person.”

Anastasia preened and shook her hand.

“Sorry, Lily,” Lily introduced herself. “Big fan.”

“I have their drinks,” Anastasia told the owner.

“Oh, you shouldn’t. We’re here to get iced coffees for our club members,” Lily protested.

“Club?” Anastasia perked up.

“Yes, we’re, we’re based in the Silverglade Equestrian Center.” Lily said.

“We must sit down and chat, darlings,” Anastasia said. “The coffees for your friends can wait?”

“I, I guess.”

“We can order them and pick them up, in a couple hours,” Pauline said hesitantly.

“That’s an idea,” Anastasia smiled.

Lily and Pauline ordered iced coffees and then drinks to have that moment. Lily surreptitiously paid for the bigger order letting Anastasia get the smaller one. They sat at one of the café tables.

Lily smiled at her and even accepted having the dog sit in her lap. Lily didn’t mind dogs. A dog in a ballet outfit was just a tad ridiculous in her opinion. They did need Anastasia’s help though.

“So, you’re based in mother’s tired old manor house way out in the middle of nowhere exciting.” Anastasia made a slight face.

“It has potential,” Lily said trying to be optimistic. “We’d love to spruce it up, bring it into the now and, and, make it _viral._ ”

Anastasia sighed. “I tried to tell my mother that she needed to capitalize while she could and she wouldn’t listen to me. Every place needs a brand these days.”

“You’re totally right,” Pauline said. “Everyone says that.”

Anastasia beamed at her. “And she has a brand. You can’t get any better of a brand than being a Silverglade. But she won’t do anything with it. She’s stubborn like that, you see.”

“But, the place is so beautiful,” Lily breathed. “It could be so much more with a little love.”

“Love?” Anastasia’s voice turned sharp.

Lily blinked, startled.

“Yes, love,” Anastasia wrinkled her nose. “Good luck getting that out of the old bat.”

Lily thought that the Baroness could be tired, or something. But if she made excuses for her, she might lose Anastasia. “We’re just starting out. We would love a little direction,” she leaned forward. “You must know everything.”

Anastasia leaned back and smiled. “I do.”

Lily smiled at her.

Anastasia took a sip of her coffee. “You know what you’re wearing is exactly the outfit my mother used to wear when she was young. It was her favorite. That’s why she wants the next club at her place to use it. She just won’t ever _let go._ I keep telling her that will be her downfall. If she is willing to bring the vinting into the future with all the machines, she needs to bring the rest of the manor into the future. It’s not like we don’t have the money.”

Lily nodded.

Pauline frowned and it was sad. “People keep leaving.”

Anastasia grimaced. “You know what my mother values above all else, loyalty. She’s probably trying to keep those positions open so they’ll return.”

“That’s crazy,” Lily sputtered. And it was, she wasn’t lying to get Anastasia’s favor.

“And if she does that, someone who is equally crazy is going to move in and just make a hash of it. Offer what they think the locals want when you want to be attracting the tourists, the fancy rich ones who will spend lots of money to stay in an inn at the quaint town of Silverglade and buy cases and cases of wine.” Anastasia waved her hand. “To fill the bars of their private homes and yachts.”

Pauline chewed her bottom lip but nodded in agreement.

“We’re just stable girls,” Lily said. “We don’t know anyone that could,” she waved a hand mimicking Anastasia.

Anastasia snorted. “She’s not going to do anything.”

“I mean, maybe, maybe if she could _see_ it.” Pauline said. “Sometimes, it’s hard to visualize something without a little help.”

Anastasia crossed her legs and her foot bounced. “You know. That’s a good point. Plans. She likes plans.”

Lily sighed. “We’re not even sure how to introduce ourselves. We don’t want to upset her or anything.”

Pauline nodded.

Anastasia waved a hand again. It appeared to be a go to gesture. “You put in the work and she’ll like you. I won’t say she’ll love you, but she’ll tolerate having you around if you show her that to you the name of Silverglade is a priority and you’re loyal to her.”

“I know how to weed,” Lily said dubiously.

Pauline snorted. “All there is are weeds,” she said.

“But I don’t know anything about fixing pipes or planting flowers or menus,” Lily shrugged.

“And we have to take care of the stables, we can’t be bartending or cooking food,” Pauline said. “We aren’t old enough for one.”

Anastasia’s eyes gleamed a little. She was definitely thinking.

“You’re right. It is out of the way.” Lily tilted her head. “If nothing happens, no harm done. But if it does go viral, why your name would be attached to it everywhere.”

Anastasia’s eyes definitely took a brighter gleam.

Pauline sighed. “I still have no idea what the building between the big house and the wine cave is for.”

“It could be for anything,” Lily said. “You could put a store in it or, well, it’s not big enough for a spa.” Lily looked at Anastasia. “What would you put it there to give it your special touch?” she asked and it was not an _innocent_ question.

“Fashion, darling,” Anastasia said. “Though a spa wouldn’t be a bad idea. She’d never go for it though.” She sipped her coffee. “If you’re worried about what she’s going to think of you, take her some roses. She loves them. Iris has a wonderful shop for flowers in Aideen’s Plaza.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful,” Lily said. “A great idea. Thank you so much, Anastasia.” She finished her coffee. “We won’t take any more of your time.”

Pauline hastily finished her coffee too.

They both stood. Lily carefully placing the dog on the chair with a scratch behind the ears.

Anastasia nodded. “I’ll definitely be in touch.”

Lily hastily wrote her number down on the napkin and pushed it at her. “We appreciate this more than you can know.”

She and Pauline left the café and headed to the nearest tram station.

“Wow,” Lily said.

“That went a lot better than I thought.”

“Well, she is her daughter. She must miss her mother. Or want to show her up.”

“So optimistic and so cynical at the same time!” Pauline giggled.

Lily’s phone buzzed again. She took it out and checked the message. “Some specialty non-lye soap,” she frowned. She texted back a quick message. The phone buzzed. “Oh, safe for duck feathers. Poor things.”

Pauline shook her head as they boarded the tram. “Just what are they getting up to without us?”

“How do you think we should handle Aaron?” Lily asked as she settled back into the seat.

“Lie,” Pauline said blandly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	5. Chapter 5

“Lie?” Lily raised a brow.

“Tell him we were sent by his mother to find out information.” Pauline shrugged.

“That’s actually plausible.” Lily pinched her nose. “For a good cause, I guess.”

Pauline poked about the internet. “He’s still at the ice cream shop.”

“Oh good,” Lily sighed. “What do you think of Anastasia’s ideas?”

“I don’t think that the Baroness will care if we start pulling weeds and things,” Pauline said.

Lily nodded.

“As long as we keep our meddling to minor fixes that we can handle and don’t step on her toes.” Pauline bit her lip. “Keep up the stables, pull weeds, do some cleaning.” She shrugged.

“Prepare the way for the experts.” Lily’s leg jiggled.

Pauline turned a bit in the seat as the tram slowed to a stop. “I think you got her scheming about how to get back into her mother’s good graces. She might just do the rest. Or at least, point us in the right direction.”

“I’m sure Iris knows gardeners.”

“Exactly. And gardeners will know mechanics,” Pauline said.

They walked across the road. “You know,” Lily said. “She may not see it. I’m not saying her eyesight is bad,” she said hurriedly. “She’s been there so long and the things keep piling up. After a while you become blind to the mess.”

They walked into the doors.

“That’s true,” Pauline said. “It becomes your mess and quite comfortable.”

“Right!” Lily agreed.

They skirted the tables.

“Sir Silverglade,” Pauline said politely as they sidled up to a rather nervous looking man seated at a high table with a laptop in front of him.

He jumped. “Um, hello, that’s, me.”

“Sir Silverglade, I’m Pauline and this is my friend, Lily. We work for your mother. She sent us to find out any information about how to get G.E.D. out of the north paddock.” Pauline smiled gently at him.

“Oh dear. Oh dear. Oh my,” Aaron wrung his hands. “I knew she’d do this,” he mumbled. He looked around for some ice cream. “I, I, I’m not any good at this.”

Lily soothed him. “We also have new information. Whatever the problem is, I’m sure we can help you.”

“Oh, oh, I’m not so certain at all. I’ve been locked out of my laptop you see. And oh dear, oh my, I just can’t seem to get back in.”

“Have you forgotten your password?” Lily asked.

He nodded.

“Do you have a phone?” Lily said and tried not to sigh. Older people.

Aaron bit his lip. “I do. But I’m not sure what that has to do with anything.”

Pauline struggled not to roll her eyes. “I’ll get us some ice cream.”

Lily moved the seat and shoved it to be closer to Aaron. “All right, start your computer,” she said.

Aaron started it up. “See,” he said and typed something.

“All right, see that link about resetting your password, click on it,” Lily said. “Okay, now, go to your email in your phone. You can do that.”

“Of course!” Aaron didn’t sound offended at all. He logged into his email. “But, it’s not my work email you see.”

“That’s fine,” Lily said. “Is the computer registered to your work email?”

“No. No,” Aaron said. “At least, I don’t think so.”

“Oh, look, you have an email about resetting your password.” Lily pointed at it. She coached him through changing it. Pauline returned with ice cream and Lily absentmindedly took a bite. Her face brightened. That was really _good_ ice cream.

Aaron almost cried as he logged into the computer.

“All right,” Lily said. “There.”

Aaron clicked on his work programs. “Oh, thank you. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime you get blocked out. You can reset the password through your phone,” Lily reassured him. “No big deal.”

Aaron frowned as he skimmed emails to catch up. “Oh dear.”

“Oh dear?”

“No good news, I’m afraid. G.E.D. brought in lawyers and are contesting our claims of breaking contract. In no means did our contract say that they could put up oil rigs on our land! Especially since there is no clauses in there for us getting a share of any profits on oil drilled and sold from our property.” Aaron sniffed. “As if we’d forget those!”

Pauline scraped the bottom of her bowl and widened her eyes making a face.

“No. I don’t think you would,” Lily said. “Well, we have some new information. I could email it to you and you can forward it to your lawyers.”

Aaron told her the email.

Lily forwarded all the pictures and the text with the oil rigs numbers on it. Pictures of the rigs in action, the pollution, the ducks in the pollution, the oil rig numbers, the broken fence, just everything the girls had discovered.

Aaron opened it and as he scrolled through the pictures, his face turned more and more red. He hit the forward button and then paused. “Oh, what do I say? This is indefensible!”

They helped him come up with a sufficiently official and polite sounding email that would be taken seriously as it was urgent and convey how angry the Silverglades were over the blatant destruction of their pristine property and endangerment of the horses and wildlife.

Aaron jabbed send a bit too forcefully. “Oh, thank you, ladies. I am so sorry it had to come to you coming all the way out here. I wish I was better at this.”

“You’re doing the best you can,” Lily said. “You aren’t dumb, Sir Silverglade.”

“There has to be someone who can do this better than I can,” Aaron moaned.

“With a bit of practice, you’ll get better. You have to stop being so hard on yourself. Your mother wouldn’t have you doing this if she didn’t trust you.”

Aaron slumped and ate his ice cream. “She has me doing it because there is no one else. And I’m worse with the grapes.”

“No one can be in two places at once,” Lily said.

“If Anastasia cared about the grapes or the family name as much as she cared about clothes,” Aaron fretted. “She always had the ideas.” He ate more. “Not me,” he mumbled into the ice cream.

He received a message. His eyes scanned back and forth. “They want to send their own inspectors tomorrow. They’re recommending I send the photos and the numbers to the police. Apparently, there’s been oil rig theft.” Aaron gasped. “How do you _steal_ oil rigs?”

“Well, if they are stolen, it’s pretty dumb of him to leave the numbers on them,” Lily murmured. “Of course, he doesn’t come off as that smart. Ruthless, but not smart.”

“They want to meet the person who found them.” Aaron read. “Oh dear. Oh dear. I better go too then.”

Lily brought up the phone and punched in a few messages. “They’ll be available.”

“They?”

“It’s our club,” Lily gestured between her and Pauline. “They were helping Tyra out today with the horses and stumbled across all of this.”

“Oh. That makes excellent sense.”

Lily and Pauline shared a look.

Lily stood. “I think you have things well in hand now. See you tomorrow, Sir Silverglade.”

Aaron sighed. “I do hate leaving the city.”

Lily made a mental note to have ice cream ready. Pauline leaned over and whispered. “What about instead of a tapas bar, there’s an ice cream or sorbet bar?” She did a quick internet search. “Yeah, sorbet and sherbet. There is no such thing as grape ice cream.”

Lily whispered back. “That’s brilliant!” She swiftly turned back to Aaron. “Sir Silverglade, do you have a list of your favorite ice cream concoctions and, and do you know if they’d pair well with wine?”

Aaron blinked. “I, I could.”

Lily leaned in. “There’s that bar at the,” she frowned. “What did you call it?” She asked Pauline.

“It’s the Wine Cave. It’s not actually a cave,” Pauline said. “But the earliest wine makers used limestone caves to ferment the wine. So, the nomenclature stuck. The building is actually made out of limestone and then faced with imported marble.”

“Yes, the wine cave, thanks Pauline.” Lily said. “What if, I mean, it’s a long shot, but, what if you came up with a menu for an ice cream and wine tasting bar for your mother. That way you’d be able to contribute to the manor with your skills.”

Aaron looked thoughtful and bewildered all at once. “That is usually a good way to a hangover.”

“But, it can be done?” Pauline asked.

“Well, yes,” Aaron said. “But still, hangover.”

“It’s supposed to be a tasting bar. Small bowls of ice cream and small bits of wine. Pair with cakes and cookies,” Lily said.

“That’s more sugar. It’s not going to help,” Aaron murmured.

“Nuts?”

“Oh, nuts are good,” Aaron said. He was reaching for the laptop.

Lily smirked. “Well, I for one can’t wait to see your pairings and ideas.”

Aaron blinked.

“You’re the expert on ice cream,” Pauline said sweetly.

And with that, they left him furiously typing away.

Lily gloated. “You are _genius._ _”_

Boarding the tram, Pauline flushed and grinned.

It wasn’t far to Aideen’s Plaza.

“This is nice,” Lily said glancing around.

Iris had a cart outside of her shop.

Lily inspected the offerings.

Iris immediately sensed a sale. “May I help you?”

“Oh, please,” Lily said. “We’re looking for flowers to give to Baroness Silverglade. We’ve heard she likes roses.”

“I have plenty of roses.” Iris said. “In fact,” she snapped her fingers. “I have a beautiful lavender rose vine named Sterling Silver.”

“That would be _perfect,_ ” Lily said. “Is it a large one or something small like a miniature tea rose?”

“It’s a florist rose. It has long stems, good for cutting and has a strong citrusy scent,” Iris explained.

“So, if she planted them in the gardens, she could sell them too?” Pauline said slowly.

“Not to cut in on your business of course,” Lily said in a hurry. “Just, the manor needs some color.”

“The gardens are in a dreadful shape,” Pauline wrinkled her nose.

“But we don’t know anything about them,” Lily said. “That’s why we were going to get her some flowers as a gift. Since, we can’t, well, you know.” She shrugged.

“I know plenty of gardeners,” Iris said. “They’d love to get their hands dirty in someplace as high class as the Baroness’ garden. Though, some of them are pretty high handed.”

Pauline fiddled with her gloves. “Well, you know, the manor grounds are open for tourists to come and look around,” she said. “I mean, if they had any plans.”

Lily lowered her voice. “We’ve heard the Baroness likes _plans._ ”

Iris put a finger next to her nose. “I understand.” She turned to her plants. “I think this is what you’re looking for,” she said and picked up a pot with a rose plant in it. “And, if any of my gardeners seem interested, I’ll send them your way.”

“Thank you,” Lily said. They paid Iris and headed back to the tram.

“And gardeners know mechanics,” Pauline said.

They returned to the mall and picked up the big box of iced coffees. The girl had nicely packed them into foil coated box with extra ice packs. They thanked her profusely and Lily gave her a big tip. They quickly rushed and got some special soap for the ducks.

Then, it was back to Fort Pinta. They changed their clothes in the tack room before picking up their horses and instead of riding, took a transport to the winery to save time.

They waved down the other girls and started handing out drinks.

“Oh this is heavenly,” Abigail groaned.

“Mana from the gods,” Jennifer said.

“Cold,” Regina moaned and pressed hers against her forehead.

Lily passed a drink to Linda with a raised brow.

“We’ve been putting up a temporary fence to keep the horses from wandering into the oil rigs,” Linda informed her.

Lily brandished the soap. “We’ve got soap for the ducks!”

Soon enough, while Linda and the others finished putting the very last bit of the fence in place, Lily and Pauline filled a tub with water and got to work gently washing the ducks with the special soap (Dawn.) Lily filled several big stable trough tubs and soon enough the poor things were splashing about in the clean water.

The other girls came and helped.

One splashed another and started a squealing water fight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	6. Chapter 6

As they filed out the next morning out of Moorland, Thomas waved them down.

“Morning, Mr. Moorland,” Lily said cheerfully.

“You girls off to Silverglade again?” He asked and took his hat off to rub his head.

“Yes’ir,” Grace sighed.

“It was much worse than we thought,” Regina bit her lip.

Lily lowered her voice. “There are inspectors coming today. Our good friend, Mr. Kemball, has been busy over in Silverglade as well.”

Abigail nodded. “And we want everything to be tip top before they arrive. We don’t want the Baroness to get into trouble.”

Thomas widened his eyes. “Right. You run along then and don’t dawdle. _Inspectors._ ”

With large smiles at Thomas and a wave to Justin, they were off to Silverglade Manor. Melody broke off to go pick up the vet to check on the ducks. They had a lot of pictures for the inspectors of the poor ducks condition and the Vet had her reports as well.

While the vet gave each of the ducks a checkup, the girls cleaned up the stable, and even took the hose to the huge parade area out front. While cleaning it, they figured out that the inlaid design was the same simplified swirl type design and circular dots on the Silverglade Clan outfits. There had to be some meaning behind it.

Then, a group of girls went and checked the temporary fence in the paddock, while another group went and checked to see if anymore ducks had gotten caught around the oil rigs spillage.

There were a couple more.

So, they were in the middle of washing them under the vet’s eyes when the inspectors showed up.

Aaron Silverglade got out of his own car behind them looking very nervous and fiddling with his blue summer suit.

The inspectors had their own veterinarian with them, of course, and a farrier. They’d brought a Ranger with them as well. They hand delivered the papers to the Baroness’ butler, Godfrey. Godfrey raised a brow but nodded.

Aaron looked nervous. “I’ll, I’ll just go inform mother. This is all very above board and legal,” he babbled. Then he headed into the house while Godfrey tried not to look too exasperated.

Linda and Judy greeted the inspectors near the stables. The farrier wanted to see the horses. The inspector wanted to start with the stables. And the vet wanted to see the ducks. Once finished with the stables (which took some time and the girls helped by showing them things,) they wanted to meet the girls responsible for reporting.

“That would be some of the stable girls,” Linda said slowly. “Tyra knows them better.” She glanced at Lily. “And Lily seems to be the leader?”

“I’ll go get them. We’re more than happy to help.” Lily nodded tugging on the brim of her helmet. “Just one moment, sir.” She jogged over. “I need Regina, Melody, and Brittany.”

The four girls returned and they walked out to the loose paddock with the inspector and the Ranger telling them their story. How they’d come to buy horses and saw the state of the stable. Wanting to help, they’d come back the next day finding that G.E.D. had broken the fence, the poor ducks covered in oil, and Regina told a sanitized and funnier tale of getting the numbers of the oil rigs. Something seemed fishy in her opinion.

The inspector and Ranger weren’t in any hurry. The Ranger produced papers and handed them to the Work Site Manager who read them sputtering. But he couldn’t do anything, it was all perfectly legal. Though he threatened to call Mr. Kemball.

“I have papers for Mr. Kemball too,” the Ranger said blandly.

“Maybe it won’t be necessary.”

The girls stifled giggles. It earned them a glare from the Work Site Manager.

They inspected everything including the rather in shambles work site for the Baroness’ new oval race track. Part of that sat right in the midst of the oil rigs that Mr. Kemball had put up.

The inspector shook his head and scribbled lots of notes. They handed the girls a camera and asked them to take lots of pictures. A late duck was found trapped in one of the oil spills.

Brittany whipped out a towel and captured it managing to show it to the inspector and the Ranger before marching off in high dungeon back to the manor.

The Ranger’s lips twitched. He liked these girls.

It was lunch by the time the inspectors finished. The Baroness herself came out of the Manor and invited them inside for a meal so they could go over the findings.

“Oh to be a fly on that wall,” Lily said.

Linda raised her brows. “Want to listen in?”

“We can?”

Linda grinned. “The library is next to the dining room that the Baroness uses. Come on. We can have our own lunch there.”

So, they used the side entrance by the wine cave to enter. Linda put a finger to her lips and unlocked one of the inside doors. It led to a book lover’s paradise. A _library,_ papered in a deep mulberry, the shelves white and trimmed in gold. The bookshelves were grouped and sectioned off by columns.

Linda led them to another door where if they were very quiet and listened, they could hear _everything_ going on in the next room.

Grace pulled out a sheet of paper and started taking notes.

The inspector cleared his throat. “Lady Silverglade, I’m very impressed with the cleanliness of your stables. Your stable girls show a lot of love and pride for the Equestrian Center.”

“They do? Of course they do,” the Baroness said. “Our stables are quite prestigious and beautiful. Anyone would be proud to work in them.”

“And the ducks are recovering marvelously from their exposure to the oil spills in your fields.” The vet said. “Their quick intervention saved a lot of lives both duck and horse.”

The Ranger picked up. “We have reviewed the contract between you and the G.E.D. most carefully with the help of your lawyers. We have concluded that the G.E.D. is out of the bounds of that contract and has parked an oil field quite illegally on your doorstep. But since the contract was carefully worded, you are not at fault for anything they did.”

“We hire only the best,” the Baroness said smoothly. “To protect our interests.”

“And,” the Ranger said. “It appears that they are in possession of property that isn’t theirs. That is, the oil rigs themselves have been stolen. We have gotten in contact with the proper owners and are looking through the chain of sale to find the culprits who brought them to Jorvik. We don’t want that filthy trade in our lands.”

The Baroness made a noise of agreement.

“Now, we have the authority to be able to run them off your lands,” the Ranger said. “And we can most likely get them to take down their oil rigs so we can return them to their proper owners. But, you may be responsible for cleaning up the mess. You can charge them of course in civil court.”

“I definitely will,” the Baroness sounded like she was seething. “Putting my horses and my wildlife at risk. They will pay for the damage done to a good field.”

“However, Lady Silverglade,” the Inspector picked up smoothly, “we do have a few areas of concern that only you can address.”

“Areas of concern?” The old woman’s voice turned sharp.

The girls looked at each other and blanched. This wasn’t something they expected to happen.

“Shit,” Linda murmured.

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Elsa said softly.

The door cracked open and Godfrey looked down at them.

Linda waved at him weakly.

Godfrey winked and shut the door.

The girls looked at each other.

Lily mouthed at Linda. “Is he on our side?”

Linda shrugged.

They went back to listening.

“I’m sorry. It’s my job to be thorough,” the Inspector was saying. “Your gardens, they’re overgrown with a lot of weeds. I’m afraid that is a fire hazard. The empty reflecting pool is a falling risk. It either needs to be put back to its proper use or a fence put around it. Speaking of fences, the G.E.D. have broken several of your fences, including the one around your work area of the oval track. These fences must be repaired as soon as G.E.D. has vacated the premises. And, I couldn’t help but notice that your pipes are in an inexcusable state of disrepair. I can give you a fortnight’s leeway to fix or get a good start on fixing them. Or else, Lady Silverglade, I will have to fine you.”

The Baroness sat silent for a few minutes. “I will see that it is taken care of,” she said finally.

“That is the least we can ask,” the inspector said.

They pushed chairs back and with polite good byes made their leave of the Baroness and her son.

Aaron cleared his throat. “That wasn’t too bad,” he said.

“I suppose we couldn’t expect them to keep their eyes on what is only their business,” the Baroness sounded slightly icy.

“We don’t want anyone getting hurt around the Manor. We could be sued,” Aaron said. “Really, mother, we should thank those girls for discovering things before it got any worse than it did.”

“What girls?”

“The ones that came to Jorvik City yesterday with the information,” Aaron said. “Oh, that reminds me. They had an idea or something. Do you remember that tasting bar we have in the Wine Cave? Why not make it a _gelato_ and wine bar?” His voice trembled.

“A gelato and wine bar? Whatever for?”

“People like wine and they like ice cream,” Aaron said. “Surely, they’d like the two of them together. We could make sorbets and sherbets out of our wines as well. I, I have some ideas for a menu.”

There was another long pause. The Baroness when she spoke again, her voice was gentle, “you have some ideas?”

“I printed them out,” Aaron said and fussed with some papers.

They cracked the door open a tiny bit to look inside.

The Baroness sipped wine as she read through the different menus.

“Or, maybe Greek frozen yogurt. It wouldn’t be as sweet and could compliment some of the wines better. Focus on _local_ berries and produce,” Aaron said. He sweated and mopped his brow with a handkerchief.

The Baroness laid the papers down. “Or rotate the menus with the seasons,” she said carefully. “You wouldn’t want to keep it the same all the time.”

“Mother, I know I’m not the son you wanted. I, I’m not good at the things you need me to be good at. I, I do want to help,” Aaron murmured. “And all I know really well is, ice cream, and I know how pathetic that sounds.”

“You’re doing your best, my son. That’s all I’ve ever asked of you. I love you,” the Baroness said. “I think this idea has great potential especially if we, as you say, focus on local produce and it being fresh.”

Aaron licked his lips. “Mother, Birch syrup is the newest thing. I think we should really get on top of it. We have lots of paper birches on the property to tap, well, both the castle and the manor property.”

The Baroness raised a brow at him.

“We wouldn’t be able to do anything until next year, but that would give us a year to research and get the proper equipment.” Aaron looked eager. “It can be added to ice cream and wine.”

“Very well,” the Baroness said with a smile. “Once we have dealt with this G.E.D. nonsense, we will pursue creating a new tasting room and _birch syrup._ ”

Linda shut the door, her eyes wide.

Pauline had a hand clamped over her mouth.

The girls were all reacting positively in different ways, but dancing in place or touching knuckles.

They heard the Baroness and Aaron leave.

Linda leaned forward. She whispered even though she was sure the dining room was empty. “You girls had something to do with this.”

“We only went and talked to Aaron,” Lily said.

Pauline nodded. “He was locked out of his computer. It was very sad, Linda.”

Linda bit her lip. “I don’t know what you girls are up to.”

Lily pulled out the folded bit of paperwork. She held it out to Linda.

Linda unfolded it. Her eyebrows flew to her hairline. “A club? Here?”

“We, we’re still going to need the Baroness’ permission.” Lily said.

“And a name,” Elsa said droll.

Linda looked at them all. “So, you’re meddling to make the Baroness like you and want to keep you around.”

The girls smiled at her.

“This could backfire in your face spectacularly.” Linda folded it up and handed it back. “However, so far, you have done good things. I support you.”

“We really need a name,” Regina said glumly. “Silver… Silver…” she muttered.

“It’s traditional in Jorvik to use animals,” Linda said.

“Well, we thought fox but there are no foxes.”

“Just ducks,” Lily propped her chin on her hand.

Grace pulled out her phone and started searching. “Okay, white ducks, they are American Pekins.”

“Ugh, Americans,” Elsa rolled her eyes.

“That are now bred worldwide,” Grace glared at Elsa. “The word duck comes from the old English word that means diver.”

“Silver Divers doesn’t really have a good ring to it, nor does Silver Ducks.” Brittany murmured.

“In orthinology, a female duck is called a hen. The male duck is called a drake. And baby ducks are well, ducklings.”

“Silver Hens while accurate just means chickens to me,” Jennifer leaned back.

“Silver Drakes?” Regina asked.

There was silence.

“I like it,” Stacy said.

“We did save them.” Brittany nodded.

Lily took the pen from Grace and filled in the name. “We are the Silver Drakes,” she said. “We need an emblem.”

“You better text that to Anastasia,” Pauline leaned over. “She’ll probably have some ideas.”

Linda choked. “You talked to Anastasia.”

“It was a productive day,” Lily mused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	7. Chapter 7

“Well girls, the stables are clean,” Regina said. “We’re on our way to getting G.E.D. out of the fields. Now what?”

“We might have gardeners showing up this afternoon,” Lily said.

“And, the gardens are currently a _fire hazard,_ ” Pauline murmured as she texted their new name to Linn.

“Heavy gloves,” Jennifer said firmly.

“I think there are some clippers and hoes and such in the hay dryer. That should also be in the tack room,” Tyra cracked her neck.

“Let’s go girls,” Lily said.

Brittany started to hum an older but still popular country song.

“I only want to have a good time. The best thing about being a woman is the prerogative to have a little fun,” she sang.

Those who knew it joined it. “Oh, oh, oh, give them a lady…”

Linda burst into giggles.

“Man, I feel like a woman,” Lily said as she did a little dance step.

They went to the hay dryer and Tyra handed out equipment and they tugged on heavy gloves. They split into two teams each taking one side of the gate and started by clipping the weeds. Lily kept her eye on the gates just in case Iris’ gardener friends started appearing.

Seeing that the girls were working on the gardens, the gardeners approached them. Some were incensed that the girls were _weeding._ As if the girls were going to start planting flowers next without any supervision. Others had grand plans that had nothing at all to do with the space or what the Baroness might like.

Lily scratched those types right out of consideration.

Late in the afternoon, a pair of gardeners showed up. One was a rather pleasant fellow with a beard, straw hat and a flower dangling out of his mouth. He looked around the place with consideration. The other was a hard faced woman who looked over the space imperiously. Seeing the girls pulling the weeds into piles. She marched over.

“Hard workers, I like that,” she said and put her hands on her hips. “Can’t really get a sense of the space with all these weeds in the way. Now, who is in charge here?”

“Well, that would be the Baroness,” Lily said slowly.

“Linda is the stable manager,” Regina said. “Judy is the stable master.”

“We’re a bunch of stable girls,” Lily said.

The man came over. “Agnetha,” he chided gently. “Stop bothering these poor girls. They’re working.”

Agnetha huffed.

The man smiled. “I’m Bjorn,” he said in a friendly manner. “My wife, Agnetha, and I have done a lot of research about the Silverglade Manor gardens and their history. When our good friend Iris said that the manor was in need of some care and attention,” he trailed off.

Lily leaned against her hoe. “Well,” she gestured. “As you can see, it’s gone a bit to seed. You’re more than welcome to look around.”

Pauline stripped off her gloves. “I’m local,” she said. “And I know these terraces like the back of my hand. I can give you a tour if you like.”

“Do you have any ideas?” Theresa asked.

Agnetha sniffed. “Not until I see what we’ve got to work with and if I could get my hands on some of the old layouts from the former gardens. I’d like to restore and update rather than start from scratch.”

“They might be in the library,” Pauline said. “We can ask Linda. She knows where everything is in the library.”

“Do you ride?” Tyra asked. “It would be easier to show you if you can ride. Big gardens are… big,” she smiled weakly.

“We can try.” Agnetha said. “Never been much for horses,” she mumbled.

“We’ll be right here with you,” Lily said. “Wait here.”

“We’ll keep at it,” Theresa said.

“And abscond with a person from the other side. Keep the teams even,” Elsa wrinkled her nose.

Lily and Pauline giggled. They jogged off and returned with their horses and gentle horses for Bjorn and Agnetha.

Pauline led the tour skirting around the empty reflecting pool that had lots of leaves and dirt in it.

“We better shovel that out next,” Lily said and texted it to Grace to add to their list of things to do.

Agnetha nodded.

“So, the gardens are a bunch of terraces that wind back and forth all the way down to the Riding Arena,” Pauline said. “They all have irrigation pipes. Not the big ones like the grape fields above the ground, but smaller ones. But everything is broken. You can take the main road down to the Riding Arena that skirts the mountain and the gardens or you can take the winding path through the gardens that ends on the opposite side near the gate for the Golden Hills.”

Agnetha nodded.

Bjorn made passing comments about what the different areas of the garden used to be according to their research.

A chipmunk darted across their path holding some seeds in his cheeks and with distinctive stripes down his back.

Pauline winced. “As you can see, we have a chipmunk infestation.”

“It looks like there is a lot of work to be done,” Bjorn said.

“Roses,” Agnetha said shortly. “Lots of roses. Lilacs. Purple fountain grass. Maybe some white cloud grass or white pampas.”

“The Baroness we know likes purple,” Bjorn grinned. “It’s the official color of the family because of their access to red grapes to get it for dye.”

“The tannins,” Agnetha waved a hand.

“So, they could make purple dye too?” Lily asked.

“Birch makes an excellent reddish brown dye,” Bjorn nodded. “That’s how they added more red to the purple to get the lovely mulberries.”

“Ohhh,” Lily said. “Makes sense to use their natural resources around them.”

“Allium,” Agnetha murmured. “Glads are too much work if we’re doing roses. Foxgloves,” she nodded. “Definitely want a wild folly type feeling back here through the back. Lupines. Lisianthus, white and purple in one flower. Maybe Clematis to hide the corners. It’s a climber.”

Bjorn just looked fond.

“Lily of the Valley for the shady spaces. Vinca, they’re showy. The frost is long past so Queen Anne’s Lace won’t go amiss. Wild feeling again. Foam flowers for the shady areas near the clematis. But mostly, we’re going to want roses. Lots and lots of roses, they’re enough types for height and ground cover. Just want to break them up a bit back here.”

“You’re the expert,” Lily murmured.

They ended up near the riding arena close to the Iron Gate that lead to Golden Hills. Agnetha nodded her head. “I’ve got the feel for it.”

They escorted them back to the Manor by taking the road. Linda met them and so while Pauline and Lily went to take care of the horses, Linda led Agnetha and Bjorn to the library where she’d already laid out a bunch of books and blueprints of the gardens.

“You’re the first ones to ask in an age,” Linda said apologetically. “I hope that this is useful.”

“You’ve given us more than we could have hoped for,” Bjorn said with a smile.

“The gardens are well documented at least here in the Manor library,” Linda nudged her glasses. “If you have any questions or need more sources, please come find me.”

They both nodded but were already engrossed in the papers.

Linda left them there.

By the time the girls left to go back to Moorland that night, there were big piles of weeds and bracken that they didn’t know precisely what to do with in the garden spaces. (Tyra thought they should compost it somehow.) Their limbs were also quite sore. But they were hopeful.

What they didn’t know was that evening, Baroness Annabella Silverglade decided to inspect her stables and gardens to see what needed to be done herself.

And she was _very impressed_ with what she saw of the work that had been done.

Very impressed _indeed._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	8. Chapter 8

The ducks had gotten out and were all over the gardens and vineyard.

“They must be feeling better,” Elsa said dryly.

Tyra put her hands on her hips. “We can’t have them running all over taking over the joint,” she said.

“Even if we are the Silver Drakes,” Regina giggled.

“We’re going to have to coop them up somewhere then until we have a good water feature to keep them occupied.” Lily bit her lip.

“Someplace quiet,” Abigail said.

“And it needs to match the Manor so the Baroness doesn’t get mad at suddenly owning a lot of ducks!”

They all burst into giggles.

“All right, to the internet!” Jennifer said.

Grace pulled out her phone and started searching.

“Maybe the library has some ideas.” Theresa suggested.

“Let’s take a gander,” Regina started.

“Gander are geese,” Elsa pointed out.

“And we better look up composter ideas too. I know that a lot of the manure goes to the local farmers,” Pauline said but she looked like she was fretting. “Along with the extra grape skins and seeds that don’t get used. There isn’t a lot of those since some have to be dumped back onto the dirt to keep the right salinity and the rest get used in making the oil.”

“Right,” Lily rubbed her forehead. “You know, maybe we should introduce ourselves before we get too carried away here.”

“Well, at least, we need to run these ideas past Linda and Judy,” Pauline said.

“I agree,” Tyra nodded. “They are in charge of the stable.”

“Do ducks really fall under _stable?_ _”_

“We’ve got a lot of ducks. We might need to make several,” Tyra fretted. She wrung her hands.

“Doesn’t one of the gardens outback have another water feature,” Lily asked. “It’s also dry as a bone. But we can mention to the gardeners that we need spaces for the ducks.”

“I hope Agnetha is open to ducks,” Pauline murmured.

They split up again. One group to go round up the ducks who got in the damnedest places. Another group to go research about duck coops and composters. And a third group to go look for good quiet places to put the duck coops.

Linda caught them returning the quacking ducks to the huge tubs.

“Escapees,” Elsa said.

Linda raised her brows. “Uh huh.”

“We don’t want them to get sick again,” Brittany put her hands on her hips.

Tyra wiped her brow. “Would it be okay to put in a duck coop somewhere?”

“We’ll make it nice!” Brittany said.

“Just to keep them from running all over during the night and maybe getting eaten by weasels or raccoons,” Tyra added.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Linda pushed up her glasses. “Let me run it past the Baroness.”

Lily ran out. “We’ve got plans!”

Linda started.

Lily stopped, rested her hands on her knees and panted bending over. She held her phone out to Linda. “Here are some ideas for duck coops. They’ve got to be low to the ground with a wide door and they like straw.”

Regina came running up next. “You know, there’s a nice area behind that little temple thing near the empty reflecting pool. It’d be great because they’re going to want to swim anyways when they want to go free range.”

Pauline rode up after her. “Yeah, there are two water features down behind near the old Gardener’s cottage. If you really want to call it a cottage. We could put another coop down there if we need it.”

Linda looked at them. “You girls don’t do anything halfway.”

“Linda! Linda!” Tyra ran out. “Where do you think we can put a composter?”

“Gardener’s cottage!” Pauline said.

“Oh, excellent!” Tyra beamed. “Should have thought of that. The gardeners will be the ones wanting it the most.”

“A composter,” Linda said slowly.

They pointed at the piles of dead leaves and thick thorn vines and the roots they’d pulled out.

“Right. Composter,” Linda said. She gave Lily her number and Lily sent her the photos. “Okay, I’ll go talk to the Baroness. You stay here.”

“We’ve still got plenty of gardens to weed out,” Lily said.

“I bet we could make it look like a little Greek temple,” Tyra said.

“And then put some barrels around it with straw in them,” Brittany bounced on her toes.

“Then, then, have you seen the ‘castle tower’ types. They’re so cute.” Lily said. “We could make it a rounded dome type with columns instead.”

Linda shook her head. “Give them an inch. They’ll take a mile,” she muttered and walked off.

Linda was very careful to broach both topics of the duck coops and the composter as needs for the manor long term. Making suggestions about where they could go and that they would blend in with the manor’s overall look rather than being something slapped together.

The Baroness listened. She pressed her lips into a thin line. Her hands she folded in front of her on the desk.

“We wouldn’t want to simply buy something from J-Kea,” Linda said weakly. “And there is a lot of garden debris to take care of.” The Baroness had informed her that morning about the Inspector’s demands. Linda showed her the pictures.

The Baroness’ lips twisted and Linda couldn’t tell if it was a grimace or a smile. “We definitely wouldn’t want something from J-Kea,” she said.

“You’ll have final say on all the plans,” Linda reassured her.

The Baroness reached for a paper and started writing. “Very well. I’m assuming you have the hands lined up already.”

“Yes, some girls from the Moorland Summer Camp are helping out,” Linda said with a wince. She didn’t know the Baroness would feel about it at all.

The Baroness’ hand paused above the paper. “Thomas sent them?”

“No. Um, Justin did,” Linda tucked hair behind her ear. “They wanted to buy horses and, well, they just started coming back to help out.”

“Hmm,” the Baroness said. “I’d like to meet them.”

“I’ll pass it along.”

She finished writing. “Here is your budget.”

Linda’s eyes widened.

“I want final approval.” The Baroness nodded.

Linda gulped. She took the paper. “You have it, Lady Silverglade.”

The Baroness returned to her paperwork. There was plenty of it to get G.E.D. off her lands for good.

Linda knew that it was her dismissal. She got up and left.

The girls convened around her, taking off gloves and leaning against tools.

“We have a budget,” Linda said sternly. “No J-Kea. And everything has to be approved by the Baroness.” She cleared her throat. “She’d also like to meet you.”

“Tomorrow morning,” Lily said. “I think that will be good.”

Linda pushed up her glasses. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

Tyra texted Linn down at the Arena.

Lily bit her lip. “So, we need actual plans.”

“Designer duck coop?” Regina wrinkled her nose.

Pauline sighed. “I hate to say it.”

“Anastasia,” she and Lily said together.

Lily texted her.

Her phone rang.

Lily set it to speaker. “A designer… duck coop?” Anastasia sounded intrigued and offended at the same time.

“Ducks are getting caught in the oil fields spillage from the G.E.D. Until it’s cleaned up they need someplace to stay safely.”

“And duck eggs are good eating,” Anastasia said. “What kind are they?”

“American Pekin,” Grace said. “Good egg layers, Dame Anastasia.”

“Don’t call me Dame, darling. It makes me feel so old.”

“Sorry,” Grace squeaked.

Linda spoke up. “The Baroness has given her approval and a budget.”

“We might need more than one coop, but we want to talk to the gardeners first before deciding on where they go.” Lily added.

“Any luck with that?”

“There seems to be a husband and wife pair that might suit, Bjorn and Agnetha,” Lily said.

“Agnetha is a wonderful gardener. Overbearing, but wonderful. Of course, with my mother, you’re going to need someone with a strong will so that the new gardens aren’t a photocopy of the old gardens. How tiresome,” Anastasia said. “Hmm, do you have any ideas? Meet me at the Jorvik Mall Café. I could use a good coffee. I’ll have a list of names by the time you get here.”

“Thank you, Anastasia. Oh, um, Aaron is considering putting in a wine and gelato or frozen Greek yogurt bar in the Wine Cave.” Lily added.

“He had an _idea._ ” Anastasia sounded aghast. “Well, we’ll have to get together to work out how to coordinate the menus if we’re going to get that restaurant on the roof actually going anywhere. Ciao, darlings.”

She hung up before they could say good-bye.

“Speaking of overbearing,” Elsa mumbled.

“No joke,” Melody agreed.

Lily sighed.

“You have Anastasia’s phone number,” Linda said blankly.

“We better sluice off and change into something better before meeting her.” Lily looked down at herself.

“The only better thing we have is the Silverglade Clan outfit,” Pauline said.

“If we wear it twice, she’s going to call us out.”

“Then that should encourage her to get us some new clothes that the Baroness will _like._ ” Pauline raised a brow.

Lily turned to Linda. “Meet us at the bus stop in half an hour?”

Linda blinked.

Regina looked at her nails. “You are the manager and have the budget.”

Linda bit her lip. “All right, half an hour. But I’m not changing.”

“No worries,” Lily said. She hadn’t expected Linda to change anyways.

* * *

Anastasia looked Lily and Pauline up and down and _sighed._ “Not that old thing again.”

Lily shrugged. “She likes it.”

Anastasia rolled her eyes. “It’s time for her to expand her fashion horizons. And you are?”

“Linda Chanda, the Silverglade Equestrian Center manager,” Linda said.

Anastasia already had coffee for them. So, they all sat down right away.

“All right, darlings, catch me up on what is happening at dear mother’s bumpkin estate,” Anastasia drawled.

So, they did, quickly.

Anastasia nodded. They showed her the pictures. “All right, I know the fellow. Not his usual bailiwick, but he’ll get the job done. I’ll give him a call before you leave here and give you an introduction so you can meet him today and he’ll ship you the materials and plans tomorrow. Most likely to Fort Pinta.” Anastasia sipped her coffee. “Now, darlings, I had an idea for that rooftop. There were plans to put in a fine dining establishment. Nothing happened of course. Mother brushed it off. So, I think we should have a chef call. I want you to find a bunch of chefs from around South New Jorvik County and perhaps a manager. They can present their different menus to my mother and let her choose what she feels is the best food to serve at the manor.”

Lily and Pauline blinked rapidly. “A chef’s call,” they said blankly.

“Yes, set up a bunch of tables. Have them bring their menus. Do a tasting. Whoever gets the approval of my mother, gets to open a restaurant on the roof.”

“Shouldn’t she have some say in that?” Linda asked. Her heart felt quite low in her chest. This was much too fast.

“If my brother can have an ice cream bar, I can have a restaurant.” Anastasia waved her hand breezily.

“Right,” Linda said voice even weaker.

“I’ll make it okay. You just get me the chefs,” Anastasia said.

Lily and Pauline looked at each other. “Okay,” Lily said slowly. “We haven’t really explored much of the county though.”

“Now is your chance,” Anastasia said brightly. “Surely somewhere out in the boonies is a bright young chef looking to make their mark.”

Oh boy, Lily thought. “We can look,” she said.

“Excellent, then I’m sure it’s all in capable hands.” Anastasia smiled. “All right, you need to go to Aideen’s Plaza, my contact is there.” She handed them a paper with the name.

“Thank you,” Lily said.

But Anastasia was already on her phone and waving them away.

They took the tram to Aideen’s Plaza in silence.

Once they got off, Linda spoke up. “The apple really doesn’t fall too far from the tree does it?”

They burst into giggles.

They went to a furniture store. The man wasn’t overly surprised to see them. He was expecting them after all. They explained their ideas showing him the pictures and their budget. He got it right away. Lily texted Regina to get pictures of the areas they thought might make good places for duck coops.

As soon as he saw them, he brightened and used them to make sketches.

“The winery does have barrels,” Linda said helpfully.

The man just laughed.

Linda took pictures of the designs and texted them to the Baroness. The Baroness texted back her approval of the plans.

“All right. I’ll get in contact with my suppliers and ship the materials to Fort Pinta by tomorrow afternoon,” the man said.

“That would be great,” Lily said. “Thank you.”

“It will be just for the one by the Wine Cave. Getting the stone for the one down in the gardens will take longer. And you’ll have to tell me if you need another one by the riding arena or not.”

“We will,” Lily said. “We do want to talk to the gardeners first before building.”

“Then I’ll get an order in on hold for the materials and once you have approval of the gardeners, fussy folks gardeners, you get a hold of me and I’ll them shipped as close as I can get. Stone’s heavy.”

“Deal,” Pauline said. “The closest village would be Silverglade. There’s a post office there.”

“Then, that’s where I’ll direct the stone. Just have a truck or plenty of horse power to pick it up.”

“We will,” Lily smiled at him. They left. Lily wrinkled her nose. “Now, where in heaven’s name are we supposed to find chefs?”

Pauline laughed. “I’ll take you around,” she said. “I know all the towns.”

Linda nodded. “If you do chores at the different stables while you’re out, it will cover transport costs. And you can get to know the different stable masters.”

“Good idea,” Lily said.

They took the bus back to Fort Pinta and that’s where Lily and Pauline started their chef quest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive Eva, she forgot she was posting this shenanigan for me. Two chapters today and Saturday to catch up, and we should be on schedule again.

Pauline took Lily on a tour all over Silverglade, Golden Hills and the Harvest District. They stopped at each café and Pauline introduced the owner to Lily and they explained their business. Dame Anastasia Silverglade was putting out a call to hire a chef for a Restaurant on the roof of the Manor.

The Security Guard at the Fort Pinta Café thought their proposition was interesting and said he’d see that the word would be spread. They went to the Beach Café and left word there too, just in case. Catherine at the Stablebuck Café in Jarlaheim promised to tell her budding chef friends the conditions of the call.

Lisbeth of Lisbeth’s café didn’t really know anyone who was a chef since she served a lot of donuts. Lily tentatively asked if she knew any ice cream makers and bartenders instead. They did have the position at the Wine Cave to fill as well. She was much more hopeful about that.

Pamela Moonriver in Crescent Moon Village offered them free honey for their endeavor. She promised to put the word out. She didn’t think her famous meatballs would be fine enough for such a prestigious manor. Plus, she couldn’t leave her bees.

Jamie Olivetree in New Hillcrest was overly absentminded. But she allowed them to write it down on her sign because they figured she would forget.

Ed at the Wolf Hall Inn promised to put up a notice on the inn board for them. But he wasn’t about to let go of his chef. He did agree though that local ingredients were imperative.

They went to Valedale and spoke to the owner of the café there. They were interested as well.

Ma Anna wasn’t sure if there was any chefs in Firgrove who would like to enter. She focused on pastries herself. So, Lily explained about the open ice cream and bartender position again.

The café owner in Dundull was enthusiastic about the idea.

Their last stop was to the west at Cape West Fishing Village. They talked to the owner of the waterside café there before taking the transport back to Silverglade Manor.

“Oh, we almost forgot Silverglade Village,” Lily put a hand to her forehead.

Pauline looked doubtful. “If there was a chef there, don’t you think they’d put themselves forward by now.”

“It can’t hurt to ask around,” Lily said.

“I guess not.” Pauline shrugged.

They rode to the village and talked to the café owner near the east gate where they’d had lunch a day or so before.

She looked doubtful. “Well, there’s always Courtney Summers.”

“Courtney?”

“Carney, Marley, and Barney’s sister,” the owner said. “She claims to be the best cook in the family, but,” she shrugged. “I don’t know if it will be to the standard of the Baroness.”

Lily and Pauline glanced at each other.

“We told everyone else. It might not be fair not to tell her. I mean, she should have a chance,” Lily said slowly.

“She lives on the other side of the village,” the owner said. “Beware, she’s very peculiar. She’d probably want Anastasia herself to come and invite her.”

Lily grimaced. “We’re unlikely to pry Anastasia out of Jorvik City before the big event. Thanks for the warning though.”

“If she decides not to join, it’s her loss,” Pauline said.

They rode over to the west side of the village following directions. Lily got off her horse and knocked on the door.

A very large woman answered.

“Hello,” she cooed.

“Courtney Summers?” Lily asked.

“Tee hee, that’s me,” Courtney batted her eyelashes.

The girlish mannerisms didn’t go at all with her farmer’s clothes. Lily soldiered on. “Ms. Summers, Dame Anastasia is hosting a chef’s call to start a fine dining establishment at Silverglade Manor. We are here to personally invite you to join.”

“A chef’s call. How exciting?” Courtney fanned herself. “But, I’m afraid I couldn’t do that without a proper invitation in person from Dame Anastasia herself. Hee.”

Lily struggled to keep her face straight. “Dame Anastasia is a very busy woman, Ms. Summers. We do hope that you take advantage of this opportunity.”

“I do know what the locals like.” Courtney smiled and Lily got the impression it was supposed to be sweet but didn’t quite work.

Lily tried not to sound too icy. “Dame Anastasia hopes to attract tourists to the area for trade with this restaurant and your menu should reflect that, Ms. Summers. All the best,” she said and mounted her horse.

Pauline and her turned their horses out and trotted away.

“What a piece of work,” Lily said as they got out of earshot.

“Bet she’ll have plenty of demands if she did get the space,” Pauline curled her lip.

“Thinks pretty highly of herself. An in person invitation from Dame Anastasia?”

“The Summers are pretty much Tenant Farmers,” Pauline said. “Like Steve, they rent land from the Baroness.”

Lily shook her head. “I pity the poor man who ends up with her.”

Pauline sniggered.

As they rode back up to the manor and entered through the gates, ahead of them two people were also walking. Well, Agnetha was marching with purpose and Bjorn was following after her waving his arms.

“Agnetha darling, you just can’t,” he said.

She ignore him.

“The Baroness is a very busy woman,” he continued. “You can’t barge in.”

Agnetha’s foot hit the stairs.

“We need to make an appointment,” Bjorn protested.

Godfrey opened the door. Agnetha brushed past him without so much as a ‘by your leave.’

Bjorn took off his hat, tugged on his hair, put his hat back on, tugged on his beard. And with a mumbled apology at Godfrey, went after his wife.

Lily and Pauline looked at each other. They scrambled off their horses and ran towards the side door. The library door was fortunately unlocked. They tiptoed towards the door to the dining room and pressed their ear against him.

“Baroness Silverglade,” Agnetha said.

Bjorn spoke up. “I am so sorry for us barging in on you like this, milady.”

There was a clink of silverware.

Agnetha slapped something on the table. “About your gardens.”

Bjorn whispered. “Agnetha.”

Agnetha put her hands on her hips. “Are you going to continue to shame your ancestors by leaving them in such shambles or restore the glory of the Silverglade name?”

Bjorn groaned. But there was really no stopping her.

Lily and Pauline gaped.

Agnetha continued. “Here are the plans to bring Silverglade Manor back to its full glory and splendor.”

Pauline cracked the door open.

The Baroness looked at the plans, raising the blueprints and colored sketches off the table. Her eyebrows rose.

“With the eager and willing young hands, I believe that these plans are entirely feasible.”

The Baroness lowered the plans and picked up her teacup. “How do you feel about duck coops?”

The question threw Agnetha for only a moment. “If they’re aesthetically pleasing, I have no problems with ducks and duck coops in my gardens.”

The Baroness’ lips twitched slightly. “You seem to be an efficient person Ms. Agnetha with an understanding of the importance of the heritage of the Silverglade gardens. This will be a full time position to maintain them and I would require your _full_ attention.”

“There’s a house. We’ll take it.” Agnetha said.

“Being a competent person,” the Baroness nodded. “I desire to have gardens around my new race track as well. Once you have finished with the Manor gardens, I look forward to your designs for the race track. Please consult with Linda for any type of materials and plants you need, as well, as the type of composter you want for the garden.”

Agnetha nodded.

“I will assign you a budget shortly.” The Baroness added. “Oh, and Agnetha, in the future, an appointment would be preferable.”

Bjorn whimpered.

Agnetha raised her chin. “I think we have an understanding.” She paused. “Annabella.”

The two older woman looked at each other with tiny smiles and twinkling eyes. Agnetha turned around and marched out.

Totally confused, Bjorn hurried after Agnetha again.

Pauline shut the door and they left the library before they were noticed.

“That’s not a tactic I would have taken,” Lily said with a shiver. They walked around the house.

Agnetha saw them and waved them over. “There you two are. We start the real work on the gardens tomorrow.”

“Um, well, tomorrow, the supplies for one of the duck coops is arriving at Fort Pinta,” Lily said.

“Yes, duck coops,” Agnetha narrowed her eyes.

“We have designs from a designer in Jorvik City,” Lily said quickly. She pulled out her phone and showed Agnetha the photographs of the pictures. “We thought one could go near the water feature in the back gardens. The one coming tomorrow is for behind the little temple near the reflecting pool. And then if necessary, a third one by the riding arena near the river.”

Agnetha had her scroll back and forth. “I see. Yes, these will work well with what I have planned.”

“I look forward to your plans,” Lily said.

“Bjorn and I need to go get our things packed. Keep cleaning up the gardens up here.” Agnetha ordered.

“Um, sure,” Lily nodded. “We can do that.”

Agnetha marched off to find Linda.

Pauline inhaled deeply. “Wow.”

Bjorn shook his head. “She’s got the bit between her teeth now.”

“As long as the Baroness is happy,” Lily said.

Bjorn huffed a little. “I got to keep Agnetha happy! And we ain’t young whippersnappers anymore.”

“We are,” Pauline beamed at him. “I can’t wait. The race through the gardens will be beautiful once we’re finished.”

“Race?” Bjorn looked alarmed.

“It won’t hurt the flowers. I make race plans that don’t hurt the flowers!” Pauline raised her hands.

“Hmm, you better give me those plans so I can warn Agnetha,” Bjorn mumbled.

“How about a riding trail?” Lily suggested. “A tour type of thing for visitors who can come take out a horse, ride through the gardens to the riding arena and take the main road back.”

“That’s perfect!” Pauline squealed. “Though, I like races too.”

“There’s no reason we can’t have both.” Lily shrugged.

Pauline shifted. “The plans are in my room.” She said. “I’ll go make you some copies.” She took off.

Lily took off her hat and smiled at Bjorn. “I hope you and Agnetha will be happy here.”

“Aw, this was always Agnetha’s dream.” Bjorn scuffed the ground. “She never thought she was good enough. But then the lack of upkeep offended her.”

Lily giggled. “It is rather higgly piggly.”

Bjork sucked on the stem of the flower. “We’ll get that fixed right away. You girls are doing a fine job. Agnetha won’t every say thanks. But I will.”

Lily flushed.

Pauline came back running. She waved a bunch of papers and handed them to Bjorn. “Here you are. I printed out the duck coop stuff too.”

“Thank ye kindly,” Bjorn beamed at her.

“The designer has our materials on hold for the duck coops out back,” Lily said.

Bjorn looked between them. “You two sure are busy bees.”

“Tired busy bees!” Lily protested.

Bjorn chuckled, saluted them with the papers and went to find his wife.

Lily and Pauline looked at each other and sighed. They’d better change back into work clothes and help finish with the gardens. Though they still needed a composter for the debris!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	10. Chapter 10

The next morning, the girls checked their saddle girths and tugged on hats. They checked each other’s hair to make sure it was in a nice neat low bun. Lily placed the potted Sterling Silver lavender tea rose bush in her saddlebag.

“Ready?” She asked the others.

“Absolutely not,” Regina breathed.

“What if she doesn’t like us?” Stacy looked pale.

They’d kept their make-up quite neutral, a light pink lip, light blush.

“Then, then, we’ll find someplace else,” Abigail said. “We can’t stay here,” she hissed.

They mounted up and two by two (Tyra, Pauline, and Linn had promised to meet them at the bridge) they rode out of the Moorland stables dressed in the purple of Silverglade Equestrian Center.

Loretta and Tan _sputtered._

Justin trotted to catch up with Lily and Regina at the front. “You look lovely today, ladies.”

Lily raised a brow at him. “Thank you, young Mr. Moorland.”

Elsa snorted.

“May I inquire into the occasion?”

“We’re about to meet the Baroness,” Melody breathed. “Don’t make us more nervous.”

Justin narrowed his eyes. “Have you been keeping _secrets?_ _”_

“We’re allowed to form a club. There’s a registry at Moorland Camp and everything,” Regina defended. “But we’ve decided on our own stable.”

“Away from _Loretta,_ ” Abigail shuddered.

Lily huffed. “This is really none of your business.”

“You’re _leaving us,_ ” Justin put a hand over his heart.

“Oh _puhlease,_ ” Elsa rolled her eyes.

“There are plenty of girls back at the Camp to flirt with,” Brittany said.

“And _Loretta,_ ” Abigail added.

“But I’m rather fond of you,” Justin said. “I can be most distressed.”

“And we haven’t officially moved yet.”

“Yet!” Justin waved a hand.

Lily sighed. “We can’t move without your father’s permission. We’re just meeting the Baroness today and seeing if she’ll give us permission to base our club out of the Equestrian Center. That’s all.”

“So you dress up in her favorite outfit and riding gear and,” Justin trailed off.

The girls defended themselves.

“We’re trying to make a good impression.”

“Show her we’ll follow her rules.”

“That we _care._ ”

Justin held up his hands. “All right, all right. I apologize for giving you a hard time.”

Lily looked down her nose at him.

Justin looked ahead. He was silent a few minutes. “You really want to leave.”

“It’s not personal. We want our own club and our own space.”

“She’s not a bad person,” Justin said speaking of Loretta.

“And we aren’t her lap kitties,” Regina said tartly.

Justin cringed. “As long as it’s nothing I’ve done.”

He got a reassuring chorus of nos, and ‘we like you.’

Justin pulled off to the side before they left Nilmer’s to go into Silverglade proper. “Then, best of luck.”

“Thank you!”

“And this is all your fault.”

“You sent us to buy horses!”

Justin sighed deeply. “Fine, blame me then! I brought this upon myself.”

“You did!” Lily called over her shoulder, mock spitefully. They continued on their way.

“Poor Justin,” Elsa said in a monotone.

They burst into giggles.

“He really is such a flirt.”

“No wonder Loretta probably has the wrong idea.”

“And Alex.”

“And every other girl he comes into contact with.”

They giggled more.

“He is cute,” Stacy said.

Theresa huffed. “There has got to be _other_ cute guys around Jorvik closer to our age.”

They continued to giggle. Tyra, Pauline, and Linn met them at the bridge. They slowed to a stop.

Regina cleared her throat. “Pauline, you should ride next to Lily. You’re our Vice President.”

Pauline’s eyes widened. “I am!”

“You are!” The other girls confirmed.

“But, but, I thought I was the race master.”

“You are,” they chorused.

“But Vice President too.”

“You know everyone,” Lily said. “And that’s what we need in our VP.”

Pauline flushed.

Everyone moved around.

“All by myself,” Melody sang in the back. “Don’t want to be all by myself.”

“Melody!” They groaned.

But there was giggling too.

They rode off again at a trot. Their entrance wasn’t _perfect._ They hadn’t practiced it. But they managed. They rode up to the front door. Lily and Pauline stopped in front of the waiting Baroness standing next to Linda. Behind them, the rest of the girls formed two lines.

They all dismounted and took off their hats, tucking them under their arms.

Lily managed a credible curtsey. “Baroness Silverglade, I am Lily of the Silver Drakes Riding Club. We specialize in eventing. We humbly request to make the Silver Glade Equestrian Center our home and make it beautiful again. I believe you may be acquainted with our Vice President and Race Master, Pauline.”

The Baroness’ eyes wandered over them taking in the outfits, the matching equestrian gear and their tasteful and elegant appearances.

“You may also know Tyra,” Lily said.

Tyra curtseyed. “Baroness,” she murmured.

“Our showjumping mistress, Linn.”

Linn flushed and managed a curtsey.

“Regina,” Lily said.

Regina stepped forward.

One by one, Lily introduced the girls and they stepped up and curtseyed. Once finished, Lily stepped back and picked the roses out of her saddlebag. “Baroness Silverglade, we bought this for you as a token of our appreciation for your fine facilities and beautiful horses.” She set the rose at the Baroness’ feet. “It’s a Sterling Silver Hybrid Tea rose.”

The Baroness impulsively reached out and touched the pale lavender petals. Her eyes turned misty. She cleared her throat and folded her hands together. “Girls, I am touched and, and pleased at your hard work. If you keep at this level, I’m sure you will do the Silverglade Equestrian Center proud.”

The girls struggled not to squeal. They vibrated in excitement.

Lily took out her folded paper. “If you’ll sign our paper, Baroness, your stables will have a dedicated riding club to look after your interests once again.” She held it out to the Baroness.

The Baroness took it with trembling fingers. She read it over and nodded.

Linda helpfully passed her the clipboard and pen.

The Baroness signed the bottom with a flourish and passed it back to Lily.

Lily flushed and took it. “Thank you,” she breathed. They had an _official_ club.

The Baroness surveyed them with the air of a queen. Her heart, it was too full for words. She’d never thought she’d see the day when a group of young ladies, strangers to her and mostly to Jorvik, would eagerly volunteer to be the riding club for Silverglade Equestrian Center again. She cleared her throat. “Now, I believe you were building me a duck coop.”

Brittany glanced about and groaned. “They’re everywhere again, aren’t they?”

The Baroness repressed a smile.

The girls mounted up and headed towards the stables. A few minutes later, they came out dressed in gear appropriate for hard work. Half of them started on doing the stable chores like mucking out, feeding the horses, cleaning the parade ground, hauling hay, and getting the hay dryer started. The rest went in search of the wayward _ducks._

Godfrey picked up the rose bush.

“The verandah,” the Baroness said gently.

“Of course, my lady,” Godfrey said with a smile. ‘Well done, girls, well done,’ he thought and the two retreated into the manor.

\--

Agnetha contacted Lily through her phone. Lily had no idea how Agnetha had gotten her number. Apparently, Agnetha had ordered a composter and it was in pieces at Fort Pinta. She knew that Lily and her friends were going to get the Duck Coop, could they also pick up the composter. The Security Guard would be expecting them.

“At least it’s not James,” Tyra muttered. “He’d make you pay out the nose for holding it for a few hours and you’d have to check the inventory three times to make sure he didn’t take anything.”

Lily widened her eyes. “This is for the Baroness.”

“I’m not sure James would care,” Tyra leaned on her shovel.

“Then we better all go.”

“Sabine’s fired Linn for being disloyal,” Tyra said.

Lily snorted and rolled her eyes. “Sabine can rot. What a witch.”

“Not all witches are bad,” Tyra mumbled.

They mounted up and rode to Fort Pinta getting there around midmorning. The security guard was standing near their things. They thanked him profusely. He muttered about needing help.

They bit their tongues loaded up the crates onto the backs of the horses and rode back to Silverglade. Some adults needed to figure out the solutions to their own problems!

Both the composter and the new duck coop were kits. Kits with explicit directions and tools included. They split into two. One group went to search out Agnetha to find out where she wanted the composter and the other group convened behind the little temple building to clean up the area and start setting up.

The duck coop looked like a miniature version of the temple. It had a wide door so the ducks could get in and out. And coming out of the coop was an ironwork tunnel that led to a long black ironwork cage that ran alongside the temple. It had a triangular roof like the temple had too. This way, the ducks had someplace outside to go at night if they wanted to see the water. On the other side of the temple, they acquired old barrels from Linda that they filled with straw so the ducks had someplace to rest outside during the day.

They painted the temple coop white giggling how it even had a carved frieze of grapes and ducks in togas. The roof was the same red terracotta slate as the manor. They put out shallow Grecian inspired concrete bowls of food and water. The water bowl was deep enough that the ducks could get their heads all the way submerged. The ducks were investigating even before the paint dried poking their heads in the open coop door.

The girls high fived each other and took the hammer and things to the tack room to put with the rest of the tools. One never knew when one would need a hammer!

Agnetha directed them to put the debris into burlap bags she provided and start taking it down behind the manor to the new composter. Then, it was time to shovel out the reflecting pool. Agnetha wanted everything cleaned up before she started planting _anything._

Plus, the pipes needed to be fixed. They couldn’t fix the pipes if the reflecting pool had dirt in it!

Agnetha didn’t stand around and watch either. She and Bjorn were right there in the pool with the girls handling shovels and filling bags to heave out of the pool to take to the composter.

Even with so many of them, the pool was large enough it took most the rest of the day. They broke for lunch and dinner of course. The new composter was getting a work out! Agnetha had bought the type that would make gas and thus, she and Bjorn would have gas to cook and heat their house with.

It was rather ingenious.

As they worked, the girls noticed that some of the ducks had taken to following them around. They tried to shoo them back to the coop that evening but the desolate quacks were heart wrenching.

Brittany picked one up. “You don’t think they were looking for us?” She stroked the duck’s head.

“But, but, they aren’t really _pets._ ” Lily bit her lip.

“Maybe they are now!”

Regina sighed. “We can’t take them back to Moorland. We have no place to keep them!”

They put the ducks into the coop and shut the door.

“We’ll be back in the morning. Promise!” Brittany said into one of the windows.

The ducks waddled out into the tunnel and the cage trying to follow them.

“Okay, maybe they are pets.”

“That’s cool though. We _are_ the Silver Drakes,” Grace said.

“Maybe we can give them little bows and hats,” Jennifer giggled.

“Oh good grief. Anastasia will give them entire outfits if we let her,” Lily said and pinched her nose.

“I’m exhausted.” Elsa said. “Let’s worry about if they want to be our pets in the morning. They’re safe.”

“Right.”

They rode slowly back to Moorland mumbling about sore arms and legs.

“This will get better, right?” Stacy rubbed her arms and legs.

“Supposedly,” Jennifer grumbled.

Thomas met them at the door. “Back again so late, girls.”

Lily winced. “Sorry, Mr. Moorland. Agnetha had us shoveling out the fountain.”

“Shoveling out the… fountain,” Thomas said. He shook his head. “And Agnetha is?”

“The Baroness’ new gardener. She’s a tough taskmaster,” Abigail explained.

“I _hurt,_ ” Grace groaned.

“We all hurt,” Melody muttered.

Thomas rubbed his neck. “I see.” He considered them. “I don’t like the idea of you riding back and forth every day, especially if you’re going to be spending a lot of time helping her.” He held up a hand. “You’re doing a good thing and I’m not about to stop you. But I’ve got to think about your health and the health of the horses. Let me call up the Baroness tomorrow and see if she’ll house you.”

“Oh,” Lily slumped in relief. “You’d do that. Thank you, Mr. Moorland.”

“Well, if you aren’t going to be at camp. You should be somewhere where someone can keep an eye on you. Jorvik is mostly safe. Don’t get alarmed. I just want to be sure you’re okay and not riding around in the dark or your horses getting spooked and the one hundred and one other accidents that can happen around horses.” Thomas reassured them.

“But the camp fee,” Jennifer said.

“I’m sure you’re earning your way over there and, I’ll make things right with the Baroness,” Thomas told them. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”

The girls nodded.

“Now get clean and get some sleep. You all look absolutely knackered.” Thomas shooed them away with a wave of his hands.

The girls thanked him and went to put up their horses.

“It’s not fair of us to stay really,” Regina said.

“We aren’t even riding camp horses anymore.” Abigail said.

“We’re just taking up space.” Brittany agreed.

Lily sighed. “I still feel a bit bad.”

“Same,” Elsa said.

“Yeah, we sort of manipulated and engineered this and still, I feel bad. We should do something for Mr. Moorland for putting up with us. You know, a thank you.” Stacy said.

“We saved his stable from being taken over by G.E.D. and being bulldozed to the ground. What more of a thank you does he need?” Regina groaned.

“I dunno. A puppy?”

The girls giggled.

“I mean. We could give him a duck. We’ve got plenty.”

“A cat,” Elsa said.

They were far too tired. So, it was far too funny for what the joke really was. They laughed hysterically until tears rolled down their eyes.

Then, they got baths, and slept like the dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, the girls still hadn’t figured out what to give Mr. Moorland as a gift for his graciousness. He knocked on their cabin doors and told them that he’d contacted the Baroness and that they were to move right after breakfast. He then promptly scolded them into behaving themselves and not doing anything to get them or their horses _hurt._

Lily didn’t know how long they would be able to keep that promise.

Justin pretended to mope about as they tacked up their horses the last time in the Moorland courtyard.

“You are an absolute ham, Justin Moorland.” Lily told him.

“What if the others get in their head to do what you did?” Justin whined. “Who will I teach to ride if there aren’t any campers around to teach?”

“You’ll just have to hang out with Loretta,” Regina said.

Justin clutched his chest and fell to his knees. “You’ve got me. Right in the heart.” He fell backwards sprawling onto the stones.

They all decided to ignore his melodramatic antics.

“Really?” He said to the sky. “No help. Not one.”

“Or,” Abigail said as she mounted. “You could hang out with Alex.”

Justin struggled to his elbows. “What?”

“I mean, she has to come over here more for Maya’s game system and endless bags of Cheetos.” Abigail smirked at him.

“Alex?” Justin blinked as if the thought that Alex might like him had never even _occurred_ to him.

“Yeah, _Alex,_ ” Lily mounted her horse and stared down her nose at him.

“But, but,” Justin tilted his head. “She’s this tough city girl.”

“She’s still _a girl._ ”

“There’s no way she could like a country bloke like me,” Justin gestured at himself.

“Uh huh,” Elsa said.

“And she and Maya are really good friends,” Justin blustered.

“The poor boy really is oblivious,” Jennifer leaned over in her saddle to say to Melody.

“Absolutely blind,” Melody agreed.

Justin crossed his arms and pouted.

“Your other choice is Loretta,” Lily told him.

“She’s not so bad,” Justin defended her again.

“And if you _wanted_ to date her, you would have done it already.” Regina rolled her eyes.

“It’s not like she’s _subtle,_ ” Abigail agreed.

“Man, is she not subtle,” Grace murmured.

Justin winced and rubbed the back of his neck.

“So, why not try things with Alex,” Lily concluded.

“Final bit of advice before we leave.” Brittany nodded.

“Don’t muck it up,” Elsa smirked at him.

The girls giggled.

Justin sighed. “At least come back to visit.”

“No promises!” Lily called over her shoulder.

“Come visit us!” Regina told him.

They rode off at a trot towards Silverglade Manor waving to Loretta and Tan and the other Bobcat girls. “See you at the Claymore Challenge!” Lily shouted at them.

Loretta’s eyes narrowed.

When they arrived at the Manor, Linda showed them where to put their things. It was a long house that looked like a string of small Greek revival houses strung together on one side of the stable.

Linda smiled at them. “We’re really happy that you’re here. I’ll leave you to get settled in and well, you know the chores better than I do. Oh, and the registry papers for your horses have arrived.”

She handed out folded papers to each of them.

Pauline jumped on and hugged Brittany. “You’re here! You’re here! You’re here. It’s not just Tyra, Linn, and I anymore!”

“Judy and I will be keeping an eye on you,” Linda said and left with her clipboard.

“Can’t breathe,” Brittany mock gasped.

Pauline smacked her shoulder and let her go.

Lily opened her registry papers and a wad of Jorvik Shillings fell out. “What the?” She asked. She held it up and counted it. 300 Jorvik Shillings, the exact amount they’d paid for their horses.

The other girls opened their papers and found the money too.

They all looked at each other.

“Huh?”

“But, why?”

“I don’t understand.”

Tyra sat on her bed. “I don’t think Linda would have done that without the Baroness’ permission.”

“We don’t expect free horses.”

“Maybe, this is her way of saying thank you for becoming her club,” Tyra shrugged. “It’s not like 300 shillings is a big deal for her.”

The girls looked at each other.

“And those horses are worth a lot more than that. Like, I think I’ve seen them go for at least 75,000 shillings.”

The girls blanched.

“Well, we’re going to have to work extra hard to show her how grateful we are then,” Brittany said.

“Thus, why she did it,” Elsa pointed out cynically.

“We’ll earn these horses, I’m sure,” Lily said and tucked the shillings away with the rest of her money.

They went and did the daily chores that now included feeding and watering the ducks. Agnetha caught up to them after and with her help they finished digging out the reflecting pool. Which was good, because after a quick lunch, the plumber arrived.

They had to go down under the wine cave and make sure they turned off all of the irrigation pipes. Then they accompanied the plumber around (on his insistence) as he inspected the pipes in the gardens, all of them, the flower gardens and the grape fields.

He at least was brisk about it.

“All right, here’s your problem see. Most of these pipes simply weren’t insulated well enough for the winter. They’ve burst. Or, your pressure is too much. You have to keep an eye on it. If you don’t want the pipes to burst during the winter. You’re going to have to make sure that they’re properly insulated and if they aren’t in use, empty.” He scratched his neck. “I’ve got all the materials and tools I need in the truck to fix it.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Lily breathed.

“You’ll just have to keep an eye on those pressure gauges once I’m done, too high, and they’ll bust.”

They all nodded.

“I’ll leave you the proper settings,” The plumber said. “And I’ll take the old pipes away to the junk yard for you when I go.”

So, they spent that afternoon helping the plumber. First, by taking out pipes and then putting new ones in making sure they were successfully fitted and caulked properly. Then they insulated the pipes before covering them back up with dirt. They hauled the old pipes to his vehicle and hauled new pipes out to the fields.

It was a long and tiring day as they also had to chase off chipmunks who wanted and did steal the tools and distract the ducks.

Once they were done and the caulk had _set._ The plumber went and turned on the water. They then inspected every place a leak could be to make sure there wasn’t any leaks and then checked the pressure gauges for the pipes.

Then, and only once the plumber was reassured that Bjorn, Agnetha, and the girls knew what they were doing, did they finish up for the day and get dinner. Agnetha muttered about setting traps for the chipmunks. But that could hopefully wait.

Sure, they were tired, but at least they didn’t have to ride all the way back to Moorland. The new rooms at Silverglade weren’t really any bigger than their rooms at Moorland. They were still four to a room. But it was fine, the beds were comfortable and being so tired, they all dropped off to sleep quickly and slept like the dead.

Which was good, because Agnetha had more plans in the morning.

The reflecting pool was empty. Now, they needed to prep it to fill it up with water. And Agnetha had a _plan._ Sure, there were plenty of birches around Silverglade Manor. They surrounded the house in every corner and lined the paths out of the place and formed little groves behind the both the stable and the Wine Cave. But apparently, that wasn’t _enough_ for Agnetha.

She wanted to have paper birch trees _in_ the reflecting pool. Well, not so much as _in_ the pool but inside big dirt columns _in the pool_.

They would form a _glade._ The pool would have little fountains in it that could be lit up for night time events or for special occasions. They didn’t have to run them during the day so the ducks would have a nice still place to swim.

Then, they could put behind the wine cave a stepped waterfall with yet more trees in it that would lead down to the first terrace garden.

Apparently, there was something in the Americas that Agnetha had seen and wanted to emulate, except, make it look more old world Greek/Roman in styling. And around the trees they could put in purple coleus shade plants for color.

It really was a grand idea.

Except for ONE little problem. There were no column urns for the trees. In fact, they had no trees to plant. Agnetha didn’t see this as a problem at all. In fact, she simply rolled her eyes and sent them off to Silverglade Village for the supplies she’d ordered.

“Maybe the Baroness should invest in a truck,” Lily said.

“Yeah, like _that_ _’s_ going to happen,” Elsa said deadpan.

Alone, it would have taken several trips. With all of them going, it took, well, one. There were bags and bags of mortar and cement. There were _molds_ to form the columns. (This was going to take several days apparently.) And there were boxes and boxes of _tiles_ to line the interior of the pool with because why not add a faux fresco of roses and grapes while they were at it!

“Next, she’ll be ordering benches so people can feed the ducks,” Brittany said.

When they got back, Agnetha had them sweep and hose out the last of the debris from the pool bed. Then, she had them go borrow a cement mixer from the race track construction site. (That wasn’t really going anywhere to be honest.)

So, they set up the molds for the first line of trees. Mixed concrete, filled the molds and then used the mortar to seal off the bottom of the pool to fill in any cracks. And there were _plenty_ of cracks to fill. Then came day one of putting up the tiles because Agnetha didn’t want to go any further than the trees.

The tops of the columns looked like the top of a Grecian urn that one saw around the Manor. Except instead of being made to hold flowers, these were being made to hold _trees._

Agnetha had 3 molds and planned on planting 18 trees. This was going to take six days total. At least, in the reflecting pool. That didn’t count the waterfall bit _behind_ the Wine Cave. The waterfall bit that had to be started from _scratch_ , meaning, someone had to dig it out.

“We can’t dig that out with shovels!” Lily protested.

“Then, we’re going to have to be a bit more resourceful,” Agnetha said placidly. “Go explore the race track more. Maybe there’s something we can use.”

Grumbling, off they went.

They explored around the race track and didn’t find anything. Then they heard a rumble.

“Is that?” Regina pointed.

“A bulldozer,” Lily said, incredulous.

They followed it North to a construction site manned by the overly familiar looking G.E.D. workers.

They all looked at each other.

“Huddle,” Jennifer said.

They returned to the race track and formed a group with their horses.

“What in the name of Jon Jarl are G.E.D. doing on the West Jorvik Highway?” Tyra sputtered.

“That is a good question,” Pauline said.

“And I doubt that they’re going to answer us,” Lily chewed her lip.

“We’re trouble,” Elsa said deadpan.

Abigail grinned. “That we are.”

“But,” Lily raised a finger. “They have a bulldozer.”

“Possibly, multiple bulldozers,” Stacy nodded.

“Sooo,” Lily looked around.

“Steal it!” Regina pounded her fist into her palm.

“We can’t steal a _bulldozer,_ ” Melody protested.

“It’s too big. Way too noticeable,” Brittany agreed.

“Barter?” Linn said.

“With what?” Lily asked.

“They have to want something,” Pauline mused.

“Us to leave them alone,” Elsa smirked.

They all giggled.

“What is north of here anyways? Where does the highway go?”

“The Golden Hills and then to the Pine Hills. But it looks like they’ve got it closed off,” Pauline rubbed her forehead.

“Hmm, maybe that’s what we can use to barter,” Jennifer said.

“Use what?”

“Us leaving them alone,” Jennifer said.

“You know, that’s not really a bad notion,” Abigail said. “I mean. Whatever they’re doing, I don’t want to get involved anyways. We just need a bulldozer.”

“We can say that the Baroness will hire them for however long it takes to dig out the fountain Agnetha wants and make the deal that our club will leave them alone.” Jennifer nodded.

Abigail smirked. “Which says nothing about any of the other clubs.”

“Right, if another club forms and sticks their nose into G.E.D.’s business, as long as they aren’t tied to us, what do we care?” Jennifer concluded.

“Of course,” Brittany stroked her chin, “that doesn’t mean we can’t tip off any of the other clubs that form.”

They all grinned at each other.

Lily rode over and took a picture of the bulldozer for Agnetha. They rode back to the Manor and showed her the picture. Agnetha thought that was perfect. They explained their plan and Agnetha nodded. She marched off to the Baroness to get permission.

So, it was with signed form and money in hand that they returned to what Pauline called North Link to talk to the Site Manager.

Who, was the site manager from the Oil Fields and was none too pleased to see them.

Lily explained the deal. The Baroness wanted to hire the bulldozer to dig out this fountain Agnetha wanted. The G.E.D. would get paid for use of the driver and equipment. And in return, the Baroness would turn a blind eye to whatever they were doing at North Link.

It technically wasn’t her land after all. Right _next_ to her land, but not her land.

The Site Manager wasn’t precisely willing. That is, unless they brought him a bunch of the Baroness’ cardamom cookies that the baker in Silverglade made to her favorite recipe.

Well, cookies and shillings wasn’t that hard. So, they rode to the village, beseeched the baker to make a batch of the cookies and returned.

The Site Manager promised that when the site was prepared and they were ready. They could come to him and he’d send over the bulldozer.

Lily decided they’d lead the Bulldozer in the right direction so it wouldn’t wreck anything important by say trying to go over the bridge and through the front gates of the manor.

They returned to Agnetha. And by then it was quite late indeed. So, it was to bed with them.

The next morning after chores. Agnetha had them help her mark out the site with construction tape, reflective paint, and flags for where all the pipes were. Lily and Pauline went off to get the bulldozer, while the other girls took down the first three forms and set them up on the markings in the reflecting pool for the next set of trees. Then, a group of girls headed to Silverglade to get more forms, more tiles, more cement and mortar and more _pipes._

It was a good thing that Lily and Regina _did_ lead the bulldozer there because the driver did have the plan of going across the bridge and through the front gates. It was enough to make Lily groan.

He made quick work though of the fountain site. He wasn’t a bad bulldozer driver. He just didn’t have any sense from getting to point A to point B. So, once finished, Lily and Regina led him back to North Link so there wouldn’t be any accidents.

Agnetha wanted to give the concrete tree holders another day to cure before they planted the trees and brushed the outside of them with a water resistant type paint to keep them from deteriorating.

So instead of doing that, Agnetha had them setting up the molds for the waterfall and marking where the trees were going to go. (This involved digging holes for the molds so the trees would have a proper root system.) The waterfall was in four sections with stairs going down to the first terrace near the middle behind the Wine Cave. Then there were two sections at an angle that were of different step heights than the middle ones to give it dynamics and dimension according to Agnetha.

There were three steps and then it was the garden and grapes as far as the eye could see on Grape Mountain.

Lily hoped someone was going to be impressed with all the work. They got the molds set up for the first step that day and poured out, they laid in the new pipes remembering what the plumber said about caulking and insulation, and the concrete floor poured and smoothed.

It was sun set before they knew it and they were rounding up ducks and getting dinner before going to bed.

So, this was the process. First, they’d set out the molds for the trees and let them harden overnight. Then, there was a day to cure as they set up the molds for the next set. Then, they painted the outside of the molds with a water resistant paint below the water line. In fact, if they saw the paint they would know the water was too low in the pool. Filled the columns with dirt, and planted the new birch tree and the shade loving coleus.

It took three days to set up the fountain. An extra day to pour the steps which were wide so horses wouldn’t have a problem with them. Then they still had to do the trees and tile everything.

They lost track of the days. And as they went back and forth to town for the supplies like the trees and the dirt and the plants that Agnetha was having shipped from Jorvik City, they heard the rumors. Other campers, inspired by them, were leaving Moorland Camp. In fact, in Silverglade, there was a new group called the Summer Chipmunks that had claimed the territory of the four area tenant farmers around the castle, Steve, Marley, Landon, and Barney. Their colors were yellow and pink.

A group had gone to Valedale and no one was quite sure what they were doing.

They’d all come to Silverglade and bought the yearling Jorvik Warmblood Sports from the Baroness, thus, saving this year’s yearlings. If the Silver Drake’s hadn’t noticed, it was because between Agnetha keeping them busy and so many people around, what was a few more girls popping into the stable.

But there were thirty trees to put in for the waterfall. So, all in all, it would take them, by Lily’s reckoning, 18 days (6, plus 10, plus 2 for the curing and planting of the last three trees) to finish planting all the trees for the new “glade” at the manor.

So, it wasn’t really her fault that she pretty much forgot about the chef’s call until Anastasia called her on the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	12. Chapter 12

Anastasia’s voice was cheerful. “Lily darling, how are things in the middle of nowhere?”

Lily looked around taking in the partly finished reflecting pool and fountain, the bare dirt of the gardens where Agnetha was laying out with string on one side the rose gardens. (Once she had it to her satisfaction, she’d mirror it on the other side.) There were bunches of roses still in their burlap bags laying around. “They’re going,” she said.

“Well, the chef’s call is tomorrow afternoon and I wanted to see how things could be set up.”

“Tomorrow afternoon,” Lily squeaked.

“No worries, no worries, I called around and have rustled up the supplies we need to get things done. I just need you to bibbity, bobbity and get it all tip top before tomorrow.”

Lily opened and shut her mouth. “That’s, well, okay, I guess.”

“Here is the plan. The chefs are bringing their own menu and dishes to show what they’d want at the restaurant. What we need is space. Thomas Moorland, such a dear you know, has volunteered to give us some tables and chairs for the occasion. All you need to do is pick them up and set them up. And Steve, over past Silverglade, claims to have an old tent in the Baroness’ colors for when they did animal shows. It might need to be hosed down. It’s a pavilion type thing. So, if you can get that set up somewhere and I don’t know a tarp or something for the ground. We’ll be good to go tomorrow.”

Lily looked at the empty parade ground. There was no way they could set up a pavilion there. Her eyes drifted to the empty rose garden that lacked everything. She was going to have to talk to Agnetha. “I think I have a spot.”

“Then, I’ll leave it to you. And Lily, do be a dear and make sure all you and your little friends are appropriately attired for tomorrow even if it is that old rag of mother’s.” Anastasia hung up.

Lily stared at the phone. “She couldn’t give me 48 hours warning,” she blustered. “Agnetha!” She shouted and jogged over to the gardener.

Agnetha frowned the entire time that Lily explained the situation. But once done, Agnetha nodded shortly. “We can haul over some of them concrete urns to put around the place to make it look tidy. Might as well use straw. We’ve got enough of it.”

Lily sighed. “Right.”

So, they split up again. One group went to Moorland to get the tables and chairs. They said hello to Justin and invited him to come to the next day’s chef call. Free food. Thomas even looked interested.

Another group went to Steve’s Farm to introduce themselves to Steve. This group included Lily because she wanted to meet the President of the Summer Chipmunks if she could. They were actually nice and friendly. Most of them were actually daughters of farmers, thus why they’d chosen the environs around Silverglade. They understood what needed to be done, like shearing sheep, milking cows, and gathering eggs. The reason they were the chipmunks was because when they first arrived, Steve was dealing with a huge infestation and they’d created a chipmunk sanctuary for them complete with mounds of cabbage.

Lily said they’d keep it in mind since they had plenty at the manor too. The girls were very much ‘the more the merrier.’ They were going to make chipmunks their club pet and sell them to tourists.

Lily bit her tongue. Sure. Of course, they’d probably end up selling _ducks_ to tourists too. So, it wasn’t exactly like they had room to _talk_ here. They got the pavilion without incident.

And when they returned, they found the last group of girls had dragged out hay bales to strew after the tent was up and pulled out some urns. Agatha had made them clean them and fill them with dirt.

Because, she’d sent a group off to Jorvik City to Iris.

They returned after everything was set up. The pavilion had been cleaned and erected and the ropes drawn tight, the stakes pounded in securely. Straw had been strewn on the ground under it. (The ducks and chipmunks found this great.) And the tables and chairs set up.

The girls returned from Jorvik City with saddlebags full of _miniature roses._ Some, they planted into the urns and the rest went on the tables to be planted apparently into urns later.

Lily didn’t even pretend to try and understand it. Why reason with Agnetha? She wasn’t reasonable. See, the fountain. Sure, it butted up against the retaining wall that curved around the base of the planned rose gardens, but it was still _huge._

Deciding that they should at _least_ have part of the gardens looking nice for the guests tomorrow, Agnetha worked them late into the evening planting roses and rolling out turf. Roses in the Baroness’ favorite colors, purple and white. There were hybrid tea roses, the tall ones for the middle of the patches, along with grandiflora roses that were also tall and presented their flowers in bunches. There were floribund shrub type roses that were middling height to go around them and hide the long stems. And there were short ground roses to create lush ground cover, especially near the edges between the lined up birch trees.

They went to bed sore with the promise there was more to be done tomorrow.

Agnetha was a slave driver, they all agreed.

So, the next morning they split up into three crews. One took care of the stables. Another took care of what needed to be done with the fountain and trees that day. And the third helped Agnetha with the roses. She had then planting a climbing rose called Purple Splash on the archway of the manor to greet the guests.

So, by lunch time, there was a strip of the rose garden on both sides of the path set out for the guests to see, along with the roses over the arch. After a quick meal, the girls changed into their Silverglade Clan outfits and did each other’s hair and makeup. Anastasia and Aaron arrived first. Anastasia air kissed their cheeks and proclaimed her amazement at the improvements to the Manor in such a short time.

She praised Agnetha for her vision absolutely raving about the fountain.

Though she was a bit peeved.

“Someone has gotten wind of our plans, darlings, and the Li family over in Western Epona are making bids to turn the Old Stormgarden manor into a bed and breakfast type of spa using grape products from their vineyards.”

“Well, that’s good,” Melody said.

“It’s not good. It’s disastrous! Everyone will want to wear little hanfu inspired dresses and eat Chinese fusion.”

“Chinese fusion is delicious,” Elsa said completely deadpan.

Anastasia glared at her.

“No. That’s actually great,” Lily said.

“I don’t see how competition is useful,” Anastasia tapped her foot.

“Well, instead of seeing them as competition,” Regina said. “You form an alliance!”

“Exactly,” Lily nodded. “You tout it as a wine tour. Get some buses going between here and there. I mean, and there has to be something here that the Silverglade Winery can do that they can’t.”

“Events!” Abigail perked up. “Look, Agnetha is going to put in these beautiful gardens and, and, there’s going to be the restaurant to cater things, and the ice cream bar,” she nodded at Aaron who was sort of listening rather bewildered, “and, and a little quaint inn at Silverglade with access to farms with all this fresh _produce_ and the real ‘farm’ experience.”

“Weddings, corporate getaways, private parties, horse riding weekends, play the farmer informational field trips for city people and kids.” Regina waved her hands.

“I bet you can do all sorts of things.”

Anastasia was staring at them. She pulled out her phone. “I’m writing all of that down,” she said her fingers flying. “But, we have to have a restaurant and chef that can beat,” she shuddered, “Chinese fusion.”

Lily pulled out her phone and typed out a message to the President of the Summer Chipmunks. “We need to have a Farmer’s Market.”

The President of the Summer Chipmunk’s texted back a lot of exclamation points and excited emojis.

“Taken care of,” Lily smirked.

Anastasia stared at her.

“We have an alliance with the new Riding Club in Silverglade, the Summer Chipmunks,” Lily said.

“And I bet their outfit is just as atrocious as yours,” Anastasia murmured.

“Um, yellow and pink?”

“Oh, I know the one,” Anastasia said. “It’s something traditional, yadda, yadda, and absolutely _ugly._ ” She shuddered. “I’ll have that fixed.” She hit send on her phone with gusto. “Now, to tell mother the plans,” she said striding off to the manor. “I do hope she had a _light_ lunch.”

Aaron scuttled after his sister.

Lily and the rest looked at each other rather helplessly.

“She hasn’t told her yet,” Brittany whimpered.

“We are in so much trouble,” Melody moaned.

“No. This is all Anastasia’s idea,” Lily said. “Blame is firmly on her.”

There were four chefs in total that showed up. There was a chef who specialized in fare with fancy French names. A chef that insisted that their food be called ‘haute’ cuisine. They arrived with no more than ten dishes from appetizers to main entres and desserts. The third chef was a tough female who used Mediterranean influences in her dishes. All her food was some variation of Greek, minus the French Onion soup that may or may not actually be French.

She and the French chef were getting into a fight over it.

The last chef was… Courtney.

They were all one and all very surprised that the girlish farm girl had showed up. Her dishes though didn’t really impress, submarine po boys and variations of other sandwiches and sides like potato and macaroni salad and even macaroni and cheese. Along with a bunch of loaded baked potatoes and chicken wings. It was like Courtney had said, things the locals would like.

Lily guessed she was fortunate that Courtney hadn’t done pizza.

But the chefs weren’t the only ones that showed up.

A young man, well dressed, stomped into the grounds looking quite put out. He proceeded to get into a fight with Anastasia. His name was Franz Klaus and he was a distant relation from a town called Silver Fork.

“I have been planning to open my own restaurant for years. I have everything sorted out. I even have acquired the funds!” Klaus shouted waving his arms around. His papers slipped from his fingers and flew away.

“My plans!” He cried.

Lily rolled her eyes and the girls ran after them.

Anastasia tried to sooth him. “Franz, darling, we are looking for a restaurant manager. If your plans and the chef we decide upon are in agreement, then an influx of cash and your help as a, distant, member of the family will be more than welcome.”

Franz wasn’t immediately mollified. “I have passion and flare. I know everything about what needs to make a good restaurant business.”

“Yes, I’m sure you do,” Anastasia said coldly. “But this isn’t Silver Fork. This is the Silverglade Manor and we have a vision and a certain standard that must be met.”

Franz huffed and accepted his pages back from Jennifer. “Just read my plans and you’ll know they are superior to anything that anyone could put together.”

Anastasia skimmed them and handed them back. “They seem to be in order, but we shall see, Franz. A chef can make or break a restaurant. Mother, shall we?”

The Baroness hadn’t said a word the entire fight. She walked past them all with considerable aplomb. She considered the tables, her eyes fell on the chef who had classical French training.

It was while he was rhapsodizing about his traditional bouillabaisse (a fish stew) that Lily knew they were in trouble. The Baroness politely tasted everything. But the look on her face was definitely not pleased.

Aaron murmured into Lily’s ear. “She hates French food. I don’t know what Anastasia was thinking.”

Franz though was ecstatic. This chef fit perfectly with his plans for a fancy French restaurant on the roof. Lily wasn’t sure how _French_ worked with the very classic Romanesque architecture of the Manor.

The second chef, the one with haute cuisine spoke up his up to the minute technological methods such as using super cold gas, liquid nitrogen, to instantly freeze his food. He went on about textures and balancing flavors.

The Baroness didn’t seem impressed.

Franz seemed excited, even though the menu was limited. Though the chef didn’t fit with his plans as well as the French chef. The chef would be good second option.

The third chef stepped forward, all no nonsense. “Baroness Silverglade, I have prepared for you today an authentic Greek cuisine experience for the summer months. For the winter, I would suggest a heartier and more warming Italian menu. For starters, we have a classic Greek salad or Horiatiki of locally, fresh, grown cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, olives, and feta cheese made of sheep’s milk from _local_ farmers seasoned with with salt, local oregano, and dressed with locally pressed olive oil.

“We also have a hot and cold Dolmades plate, stuffed grape leaves from your own vineyards. The cold ones are stuffed with rice and the hot ones have local fresh ground beef in the mixture. We also have a crusty freshly baked Italian bread made of locally grown wheat ground at Will’s Mill served with fresh tomatoes and fresh mozzarella of local cow’s milk with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.” She also mentioned that they could order Kalamata olives as a side if they wanted, grown locally in Epona.

For the first time, the Baroness actually seemed interested and mildly impressed.

And on it went, the soups were vegan lentil (Red Fakes Soupas), French onion, and something called Avgolemono, which was a chicken soup in an egg and lemon custard type sauce. Lunch items included Gyros with onions and tomatoes, but no lettuce with the traditional yogurt and cucumber tzatziki sauce. The chef went on a diatribe about lettuce being bits of useless water masquerading as greenery. There was no lettuce on her menu.

A chicken souvlaki that was a spiced chicken dish also in pita bread. There was spiced lamb skewers in a sliced Italian bread. And Loukanicko, a Greek sausage flavored with orange. There was also an over the top hamburger cooked to medium rare, piled with mushrooms and bacon, topped off with a fried duck egg and a fresh duck egg and lemon aioli. The sides for lunch were local twice fried potato chips (well, fries, but the British called them chips) or an equally locally grown fried onion rings plate.

Dinner continued the theme of local and fresh, which the chef emphasized over and over. Lamb Chops with greens and mushroom risotto. Moussaka, a potato, eggplant, and ground beef dish in a cream sauce. Spanakopita for those who were vegans. There was also a Greek baked fish dish in tomatoes called Psari Palki. The last dish was for the not so adventurous, a pork chop served with apples from Firgrove and local potatoes au gratin.

Her desserts were, of course, baklava, the honey coming from Crescent Moon Village. A Greek Yogurt Berry Parfait with local fruits from Mistfall and Greendale forest (lingon berries, strawberries, blueberries and Mistfall berries) with crunchy oats from local farmers. A rice pudding spiced with vanilla, cinnamon and cardamom called _rizogalo._ Cardamom included special for the Baroness as it was her favorite spice. A custard in filo dessert called Galaktoboureko rolled into individual servings and coated with a clear sweet syrup of sugar, honey, and a dash of orange juice. And a spicy and nut stuffed roasted apple from Firgrove.

Franz huffed and scowled. This didn’t fit his theme at all.

Then Courtney stepped up with her dishes.

And Franz Klaus went off the rails.

“Oh, she’s perfect,” he cooed. “So beautiful, I must know her immediately.”

They all took a step away from him.

The Baroness wasn’t impressed with her offerings that were little better than café or bar food. But she politely, if with the demeanor of an ice queen, sampled each of them. The Baroness finished, thanked all of them and assured them that they would be in touch to tell them who had won.

Klaus rushed over to Courtney and introduced himself babbling that he must have her for his restaurant.

“Not here, he won’t,” Anastasia hissed.

Courtney rambled off her conditions and Klaus agreed to each of them without a second’s hesitation.

Anastasia snorted. “He won’t be working here then.” She nodded.

“I’m sure they can find someplace nice in Silverglade,” Lily said slowly. How a man who had such big dreams about a fine Parisian restaurant could turn into such a push over for a female face, she didn’t know.

“Then, I suppose we’ll all be happy,” Anastasia flounced off after her mother. Aaron wrung his hands and not quite willing to be left out of the conversation, hurried after them.

At that point, Thomas Moorland showed up along with a bunch of the farmers from around the area. The Summer Chipmunks arrived as well to pay their respects to the Drakes. Word had gotten around. And they all set to finishing up the offerings and chatting congenially about the changes coming to South New Jorvik County.

Once the food was gone, they helped the chefs clear up their dishes and saw them off wishing them good luck. No one said a word as Franz Klaus ran after Courtney like a well-trained puppy. Good riddance to the uninvited.

They took down the pavilion and the tables and decided to return them bright and early the next morning. Because quite frankly, they were exhausted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	13. Chapter 13

Linda gave Lily a bunch of envelopes to mail the next morning. “Except this one,” she said handing Lily the last. “The Baroness would like you to deliver this one personally.”

Lily stared at them. “Sure,” she said. “We have to go through Silverglade. I can pass most of these off to Derek,” she blinked. She checked the address of the last one, “and then go to New Hillcrest after seeing the tables and chairs back to Mr. Moorland.”

“Sounds like an excellent plan,” Linda smiled at her. She paused. “Um, Lily, I, err, thank you. For coming and doing all this. I mean, not a lot of people would do that and a lot of people _didn_ _’t._ You girls are something special.”

Lily blinked slowly. “We didn’t want to stick around and be subjected to Loretta. I’m surprised she hasn’t alienated _more_ campers than she has.”

Linda laughed lightly. “Yeah, she’s, interesting. I know she can become a good person if given the right influences.”

“But does she have them? She does tend to surround herself with girls like her.” Lily said as she tucked the letters away, keeping the special one in a different section of her saddlebag.

“I have a friend like Loretta and she turned out okay.”

Lily raised a brow. “With a friend like you, Linda, I think anyone would turn out okay.”

Linda flushed.

Lily mounted her horse. “I’ll get those letters taken care of, boss. Don’t let Agnetha run the other girls too ragged in our absence.”

Linda snorted. “As if anyone has control over Agnetha.” She looked around the Manor with a small look of pride. “Anastasia has asked me to make a website for this place as soon as it’s done.”

“That’s wonderful.”

“I’ve been doing news posts and throwing up pictures on Jorvikgram,” Linda grinned.

“When do you find time, I know all of your projects!” Lily groaned.

Linda shrugged and smiled.

“No wonder everyone turned up for food,” Lily said.

“Good thing they did. We couldn’t eat all of that!” Linda’s eyes widened and she adjusted her glasses.

They both laughed.

Lily waved at her and joined the other girls who had all the supplies on their horses from the day before. Agnetha had the other girls working on the fountain already. They trotted out. Lily paused in Silverglade to say hello to Derek (who everyone agreed was a real cutey) and give him three of the four letters.

“I’ll get these out straight away,” Derek said. “Oh, this one is pretty easy. Courtney Summers in Silverglade, I could just walk it over. Be nice to get out of the office and stretch my legs.”

“You do that,” Lily said and shuddered. As long as she didn’t have to be the bearer of bad news.

“See yah!” Derek said as the girls moved on two by two.

They delivered the pavilion back to Steve. The President of the Summer Chipmunks waved Lily over saying that they were probably going to use it and a couple others like it for the Farmer’s Market. If they could figure out where to put the Market.

Lily was sure they’d find the best spot. Not her _problem!_ (Lily was only willing to take on so much.)

From there, they took the road to Moorland.

Both Justin and Thomas were happy to see them. They raved about the food. Thomas couldn’t pronounce half the dishes on the menu, but it had sure been delicious. He was looking forward to having a real restaurant serving more upscale food in the area. It’d be a good place for Justin to take dates.

He wanted grandchildren sometime before he died.

Of course, Justin protested and flushed and huffed.

As they were laughing at poor Justin and saying their good byes and thanks for the tables, Lily’s phone buzzed.

It was Agnetha. The parts for the fountain had arrived for the reflecting pool at Silverglade. And would _someone_ be a dear and fetch them.

A couple girls rolled their eyes and volunteered to swing back through Silverglade on their way back to the Manor. The rest rode off towards Nilmer’s Highland. They’d exchanged their red-orange t-shirts for a glaring purple one. Anastasia would be appalled. But they were trying to proclaim their allegiance to the Manor.

In fact, as soon as they had a moment to breathe. They were going to hit some stores and buy a couple different purple t-shirts for doing chores and riding around in. Who knew what Anastasia had up her sleeve or when it would be finished and they needed clothes!

Lily took a transport to the New Hillcrest stables and winced at how run down they looked. There was a local riding club called the Bulldogz, but the place looked like they needed an infusion of cash. She was really beginning to wonder about the economy of South New Jorvik County. Seriously, was it G.E.D. interfering or something else?

She found the address and knocked on the door. “Ms. Antonia,” she said as the door opened. “Special delivery from Baroness Annabella Silverglade.”

What was it with the names beginning with the letter A?

Antonia took it. “Please, call me Tony,” she said absentmindedly as she read the letter. Her eyes widened. “I won! I, I, I got the job. I mean. I got my _own restaurant._ ”

“Congratulations,” Lily said with a pleased smile. “Your food was amazing.”

“But, but, _why?_ _”_ Tony asked. “I mean, the others, outside of that Courtney woman, were just as good.”

“Maybe it was your insistence on local and fresh, plus, you mentioned plans for a winter menu.”

Antonia seemed dazed. “Yes, well, always plan ahead.” She clutched at the door. “And, and, there’s a cottage in Silverglade Village that I can use as part of my wages, no rent,” she seemed quite shocked at her good fortune.

“Oh, that’s great. Agnetha and Bjorn have a cottage on the grounds. I don’t think there are any other extra cottages though that I remember. But Silverglade is pretty close. You could ride, um,” Lily looked around.

“I have a scooter,” Tony supplied.

“Yes, your scooter.”

“Electric.”

“Your very quiet and won’t bother the horses scooter, to work.”

“It’s purple,” Tony added.

“She _loves_ purple.”

“I, I have to go to Jorvik City and get plates and, and, napkins, and kitchenware. I’m supposed to meet Anastasia Silverglade and, and,” Antonia ran out of breath.

“We’ll help you in any way we can,” Lily said. She scribbled down her number. “Shoot me a text when you need us.”

Tony took it. “You may live to regret this.”

“Well, you’ll have to fight Agnetha for our help until the gardens are done,” Lily tilted her head. “I, I would pay to see that really.”

Tony grinned.

Lily tugged on her helmet. “I best be off before Agnetha does wonder where I am.” She jogged down the stairs with a wave at Tony. She mounted her horse and headed back to the Manor by the stables transport.

She returned to chaos. Or something like it. She guessed it was organized chaos.

Agnetha had one group laying out the fountain parts into the reflecting pool. Another group was taking down all the Victorian style lamps along the road. Lily got a shrug when she gave the girl in charge a questioning look. And the last group was laying out the rest of the rose gardens in front of the manor.

So, she tied her horse up and went to ask Agnetha where she needed help.

Agnetha gave her a hard look. “Where have you been?”

“Delivering a letter for the Baroness.”

Agnetha snorted. But she knew she was outranked. “I have some orders I want put into Jorvik City.” She ruffled through her papers and handed them to her. “Best done in person, they’ll get done faster.”

Lily leafed through them. “These aren’t orders. These are _commissions._ ”

“Orders,” Agnetha shrugged.

Lily repressed a deep sigh. “All right. Um, I was going to do some shopping for the girls. Unless you like red-orange.”

Agnetha made a face. “Get on with it then.”

If Lily had been any _other_ person, she would have said that shopping was a pleasant experience. Lily wasn’t any other person, girl, whatever. She _hated_ shopping with a passion. And if she could have passed it off, she probably would have.

But purple and brown simply didn’t go together and their laundry was rather out of control. If she was going to Jorvik City, she could stop at Silverglade and go to the Mall and buy out a bunch a purple t-shirts and get some cheap pants that were gray or _black._

Lily looked at the names again. “Why not use Conrad?” She asked speaking of the blacksmith in Moorland. Agnetha had commissions for benches.

“He refuses to follow directions, the old fool.”

Lily winced. So Conrad’s reputation had spread. “Right.”

So, Lily rode to Silverglade, bought a couple t-shirts there, two different pairs of worn black jeans, and some pants with purple argyle knee socks. Maybe Agnetha would take pity on them and give them something.

There were more purple t-shirts at the mall, with and without sleeves. But their pants selection was rather dismal and overpriced. But they had something else that wasn’t red orange and… brown.

Lily dropped off orders for street lamps and wall lamps, some lamps that looked like they were supposed to go in the trees over the reflecting pool and the fountain, and benches. The artisans assured her that they would get on these orders immediately and they’d have them finished in a few days. The last order was to a sculptor. She appraised the designs, deemed them _adequate_ and Lily left with a feeling of foreboding.

Whelp, it wasn’t her head on the line she supposed. She picked up a bunch of ice coffees at the mall again. The girl remembered her order and once again packed it nicely. The girls were quite grateful when she returned with them and the bags and bags of new clothes.

Sure, their wardrobe was going to be exactly the same, but that wasn’t Lily’s fault.

* * *

When the reflecting pool was finished and filled with water, Agnetha did give them a nice pair of grey pants. They all babbled their thanks at her and immediately added them to the pile of laundry after using a waterproof marker to say whose was whose.

The reflecting pool was _gorgeous._ The rows and rows of birch trees and their leaves added a bit of green to the space along with shade. The finished rose gardens added a sweet scent to the air.

Of course, Agnetha was far from being done. No. They were simply getting started. She made them collect all the urns from around the manor. Clean them thoroughly and paint them.

Then, they were off to Silverglade again to pick up some more plants, lilac bushes to be exact. These they planted in the corners of the manor building before surrounding them with ground cover type roses. They planted them alongside the inn building and behind the empty temple building near the duck coop. They even put some behind where the transport parked near the gas container. (Ugly thing that Agnetha called it, but it was necessary.)

Then they were able to move the urns, to the end of the stairs at each of the manor’s entrances, the corners of the Baroness’ private verandah where the Sterling Silver rose that the Silver Drakes had given her was in a box against the wall between the doors. They put the urns between the doors of the inn on the stairs and at the ends. But Agnetha didn’t trust the horses not to try and _eat_ them, so they kept them away from the stable sides except near where the big archway was and the corners of the buildings angled away from where curious horses could stick their heads out and nibble.

Then they filled the urns with dirt and planted miniature roses in them in white, lavender, and the lovely dark mulberry. There were four urns left over, but Agnetha had plans for them.

She needed the benches for them though. She also didn’t have enough to decorate the Wine Cave. Which was bugging her. Fortunately, the urns were rather basic urns for all they were heavy and made of concrete. There was a craftsman in Jorvik City that made them by the gross if needed. Agnetha texted them a message.

So, it really was no surprise to anyone that the benches, lamps, and urns all arrived at the same time. Agnetha and Bjorn used their truck to move the urns thankfully. Though, once at the bridge they stopped, put urns on each end of the bridge and from there on out, they placed urns between every other space in the trees leading up to the manor. This same pattern continued _inside_ the manor the girls noticed as they rode back with boxes and boxes of miniature roses and rose vines wrapped in burlap, bench parts including slats of wood, and the long bits of lamps and carefully cushioned in their own boxes, the white glass globes to go on top.

When they arrived and carefully put all the boxes in the parade ground, they noticed more urns had been placed on the ends of the bridge going out to the loose paddock.

“Consistency,” Elsa said dryly.

Agnetha put them to work. There were two benches for the reflecting pool, and four more that went on each side of the wine cave. The benches were in an odd style, though Theresa muttered something about faux roman. They were curved instead of having harsh corners. The ends of the arm rests had horse heads and the feet were horse hooves. There were three dimensional roses carved at the top of the back of the benches. The backs were carved with grapes and roses. Thus the sides looked like very rounded X shapes.

Then, they could place the urns. Urns went to each side of the benches and then between the columns of the Wine Cave and bracketing the doors.

They potted the miniature roses into the urns careful to make sure they had all the colors in each urn. From there, Agnetha had them put up the lamps. The lamps went in the empty spaces between the birch trees.

They were certainly pretty. The bases had rearing horses and the posts went up to two spirals holding up three round white glass globes. There were also new lamps to go on the stable, the temple building, the hay dryer, inn, and around the house. And hanging globe lamps for the wine cave. More globe lamps of different sizes were strung in the glade of birch trees over the reflecting pool and along the waterfall. One would think that would mean no lamps needed to go alongside them, but one would be wrong. There were lamps midway between the urns bracketing the benches and the urns on the corners. And there was a lamp for them middle of each broad step as urns got the prime spots on the ends for the waterfall.

They also put lamps between the bridge and the stable.

Once they had the lamps placed, Agnetha showed them how to plant the lavender rose vines at the base of them and trained them to go up, wrap around the horse and up the post to hang off the spirals. She called the climbing rose Angel Face. So, instead of having carved metal roses, they were wrapped in living color.

She also had them hang small baskets of roses from the spirals on the globe lamps on the sides of the buildings. Each basket also had a climber to climb up and over the spiral.

And with that, by some miracle, after over 20 days of hard work. The front gardens and the waterfall were _done._

Agnetha, bless her, decreed that she had to make a few adjustments to her plans for the terrace and back gardens and that meant they would have a little break for a day or two from gardening.

So, they sat on the benches and sprawled, a couple feeding the ducks bread that was in no way good for them. But the ducks deserved a treat as much as they did.

“It’s _beautiful,_ _”_ Tyra breathed.

The Baroness came out of the manor and looked around. The stables gleamed. Roses bobbed on the faint breeze. The scent of lilacs and roses filled the air. Water made a pleasant background noise from the waterfall. The old woman looked ready to cry. She pressed her hands to her heart before wandering the gardens to touch the roses and breathe in the scents.

By the time she was done, it was like years had lifted off her face and for a moment, they could see the beauty she had been, a faded rose returning to bloom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	14. Chapter 14

They finished the front gardens and the reflecting pool/waterfall just in time, because the next day Antonia sent Lily a frantic text that she had a meeting with Anastasia in Jorvik City at Leonardo’s with Aaron Silverglade.

Lily wasn’t sure why the tough sounding woman needed her and Pauline but if it reassured her, then Lily was willing to join the meeting. Plus, ice cream.

Anastasia made a small noise about their outfits when they arrived. But it wasn’t like they had anything better than the Silverglade Clan outfit! But she didn’t say anything else. They all ordered ice cream.

Antonia shuffled her papers. She had a pile of her recipes and suppliers along with a trial layout of the menu and some pictures of different ceramic and glassware.

Anastasia raved about the food. “Classic and flavorful, and light, perfect for a summer menu. The cardamom in the rizogallo was the perfect touch. And you say you got everything _locally,_ my mother is so proud of the resources in the Silverglade area. You are perfect for this position.”

Antonia smiled, pleased. “Local and fresh is essentially for a quality restaurant.”

Anastasia raised her hands. “I believe I have the perfect name, darlings; The Silver Glade, Fine Mediterranean Cuisine.”

“You’re the boss,” Lily said.

Antonia nodded. “My vision for the upstairs and downstairs dining areas is modern, fresh and _young,_ ” she said and laid out her photographs. “Upstairs the most important way to convey this will be with the place settings. I’ve brought several choices.”

“Going up and down those stairs, the servers are going to want comfortable shoes,” Pauline made a face.

Lily put a finger on a photograph. “What about those? They’re sufficiently modern and the white won’t interfere with the food.” The dishes in question had white on white Greek keys done intaglio style around the edges.

“That would be the Wedgewood set,” Antonia said with a wince.

Anastasia pounced. “Wedgewood is _classic._ Yes, I believe that will be perfect.”

Lily and Pauline rolled their eyes at each other.

“Now, Aaron has a plan to use the birches around the property to make birch syrup. The Silver Glade itself has a lot of birches we could tap as well.” Anastasia said. “Once we get that going, we’ll want to find ways to use it in the restaurant as well as, do you have a name for your little ice cream bar yet, brother dear?”

“I’m working on it,” Aaron fidgeted.

“I’m sure we can find something to use birch syrup in, such as the drinks or the ice creams and desserts,” Antonia reassured him. “That sounds fascinating.”

Aaron smiled at her and looked at his hands.

Antonia gave Anastasia a mild glare. Aaron was _trying._

“And it will be something to sell at the Farmer’s Market,” Lily said.

“Farmer’s Market,” Antonia pounced.

“Yes, um,” Lily pulled out her phone. “We have a sister club called the Summer Chipmunks based in Silverglade Village. They have claimed the four local tenant farmers, Landon is a sheep farmer, Marley does potatoes, Steve grows grains and keeps dairy cows and Barney also has crop fields such as carrots, beets, and turnips. They found an area that’s relatively centralized to put in a farmer’s market. They’ll be using the pavilion we used for the taste testing. It’s near the Golden Fields.”

“Really? That’s wonderful.”

“They’re hoping to get farmers from all over the county, like MoonRiver honey and the Sunfield’s dairy,” Pauline said. “They’re looking into finding who owns the apple orchard in Firgrove.”

“The spot is near the Golden Fields, but they can’t figure out why they’re called that. I don’t know why the Silver Fields are called that either, they’re just useless expanses of grass that rich people call lawns,” Lily drawled out.

“Buttercups?” Pauline asked with a shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe it was dandelions.”

“Mrs. Holdsworth would like that and dandelions are at least useful,” Pauline tilted her head. “You can eat the flowers, the leaves are good for salads, the roots make a bitter tea and can be added to coffee, I think it was dandelions.”

“It’s probably not important,” Antonia said.

Lily texted the President of the Summer Chipmunks a message. “Oh, they looked into it, they used to be canola fields. It doesn’t seem right that the Silver Fields aren’t _silver._ I suppose if we must, we can do something about it ourselves.” She sent another text.

Pauline gave her an odd look.

Lily put her phone away. “How did you want to decorate?” She asked Antonia. “We have plenty of miniature roses left over for the upstairs restaurant if you want them.

“I was thinking round tables and roman style chairs? If there is such a thing. And of course, we’d want candles in the middle with flowers from the gardens. Or even table lamps we could put flowers around. I don’t want it too fussy.”

Pauline brightened. “Agnetha has had globe style lamps made for the gardens already and commissioned benches.” She pulled out her phone. “Okay, Linda has been posting pictures on her Jorvikgram and I took a bunch.” She passed the phone over. “So, similar to that?”

“Yes, yes,” Antonia looked relieved. “Maybe a bit more modern. But we could do something similar for the interior, that is, I don’t know how much your mother wants to make over for a downstairs rainy and cold day dining area.”

“Mother has given me free reign to make this a success.” Anastasia waved a hand. “Aaron, where is your computer, let’s have a better look at these pictures.”

Aaron retrieved his computer and chicken pecked in his password. He nudged it towards Pauline.

Pauline input Linda’s JorvikGram and scrolled through the pictures and the pictures were captioned with who had actually done the pieces.

“Linda believes in fair attribution for the artists,” Pauline explained. “She wants them to get more business.”

“And they will,” Anastasia said.

By the end of the session, they at the very least had some ideas for lamps, place settings and silverware. The Wedgewood sets even had flower vases.

Lily and Pauline were sent off with orders to leave at different businesses to be shipped to Silverglade. (Where Lily knew that they’d have to pick them up and bring them to the Manor.)

Anastasia also made one more request. She needed the measurements of all of the girls. She had _plans_ it appeared. Lily and Pauline promised to get them for her.

Aaron was still dithering over what to call everything. “I’m not that inventive,” he said plaintively. The girls promised to think about it for him.

“Anastasia went the easy route,” Lily told Pauline on the name for the restaurant as they left for Aideen’s Plaza.

Pauline snorted. “You’re up to something.”

“Really?” Lily batted her eyes at Pauline.

“Why do you care so much about the Baroness’ lawn anyways,” Pauline twisted to look at her on the trolley.

Lily shrugged. “It seems like a waste. I mean, lawns are all about conspicuous consumption. They came to be because rich people had so much land and money that they could afford to have large swaths of it doing nothing. See my big tracts of grass that doesn’t grow food or flowers or feed animals. Lawns are dumb. And, the grass isn’t silver, so the name only makes sense if you know it’s the property of the Silverglade’s and, maybe I have something against grass.”

Pauline giggled.

So Pauline pretended not to notice that Lily and Iris had a furtive exchange at Iris’ shop. They placed the orders they needed with the artisans Agnetha had found. They weren’t too surprised. Rumors were rampant about things happening out around the Baroness’ Manor.

No doubt many of them were created by Anastasia herself.

They returned back to the Manor to report to the others who were washing a new set of ducks. Brittany was frantic over a black one.

“Uh, Brit, I think he’s supposed to be that color.”

Brittany held the black duck upwards, it reflected purple in the sun. “Are you sure?” She sounded panicked.

“Okay, vet time!”

They took the duck to the vet.

“It’s a Jorvegian Aubergine Black Duck,” the vet reassured her. “It’s supposed to be black.”

“Some poor fool named this duck after an eggplant,” Regina moaned.

They giggled.

Brittany cuddled the duck. “Okay, as long as he’s supposed to be this way.”

“They’re known for their deep black feathers, orchid sheen and purple bills and feet,” the vet explained.

“We have added a rather large water feature to the manor,” Regina told her.

“It may be attracting other Jorvegian duck species. The South Silver Waters also border the Baroness’ lands and many wild ducks like to swim in the shallows. Keep your eyes open for Jorvegian Purple Mallards and Jorvegian Purplebills. They’re both native wild species.” The vet said. “But don’t be surprised if others turn up if you’re making the Manor hospitable to them.”

The girls nodded.

“Thanks!” Brittany called out to her as they left, the duck safely tucked in her saddlebag.

They returned to the manor and since all the chores were done for the day, they rode around with Pauline trying to decide on races.

“I’m not sure I like this, we’ve been so busy and doing nothing is boring,” Melody said.

“Don’t say that,” Grace groaned. “You’ll jinx it.”

“Well, Antonia the Chef is going to be moving to Silverglade from New Hillcrest soon. She owns a Scooter, so she might need help moving. And well, the restaurant is going to need to be decorated and everything.”

So, they decided to poke their noses around to see what was going on with the restaurant and kitchen.

They tramped up to the roof of the manor again and spread out.

“Well, this is fine and all for a warm summer day,” Elsa observed. “But there has to be a room that we can use in the Winter. You can’t let it sit for most the year wasting money. You don’t want to lose employees!”

“It doesn’t look like it needs that much sprucing up.” Jennifer added. “If there was furniture you could start tomorrow.”

“If,” Tyra said. “There is a room downstairs for the restaurant, I think. I mean, it’s past the stairs.”

“Forward is the library,” Lily said as they went back downstairs. “That leads to the Baroness’ dining room.”

“I think her kitchen is supposed to serve both places,” Linn scratched her neck.

“That’d actually make sense,” Stacy said.

“So, it’s this door here,” Lily said and put her hand on the handle. She cracked it open. It was a big empty room. “Yeah, I think this is it.” She opened it more and they filed inside to look around.

“It isn’t very,” Abigail shrugged. “Memorable.”

Lily took pictures and sent them to Anastasia and Antonia, asking Anastasia if this was the room in question.

They checked the door leading into the house. “Okay, yeah, that’s the kitchen,” Tyra said after peeking inside. “I don’t think there is anyone there.”

“Doesn’t her butler do most the cooking?”

“Maybe she has a private chef.”

Lily put a finger to her lips, ducked inside and took more pictures for Antonia. She left without touching anything. It wasn’t a huge space. It didn’t have to be.

“Just a big empty room,” Regina bit her lip.

“What does a stylish Mediterranean Restaurant look like anyways?” Linn asked.

“That sounds like an internet search!” Elsa said.

They retreated to the library and took out their phones and searched. They showed each other different pictures.

“I think this is the closest we can do with the room,” Regina said and brandished her phone to show them pictures of the Le George restaurant at the George Four Seasons Hotel in Paris.

They did all agree. They didn’t have quite the same type of architecture, because the Le George definitely had a glass sunroom type area. So, again, Lily forwarded the pictures to Antonia and Anastasia mentioning something similar could work for the Silver Glade and that surely they could use the Roses instead of orchids.

But they didn’t want to copy it exactly.

That and if there wasn’t purple, the Baronness would be upset. Anastasia knew a decorator and informed Lily that she’d be there tomorrow with materials and that they better be available to her.

They all rolled their eyes and agreed.

“Better warn Agnetha,” Lily mumbled and went to do just that.

Then, they went for a ride in the Silver Fields. Lily passed out a bunch of seed packets from Iris for them to scatter of wild Carnations. They didn’t grow more than three to five inches high and were colored white with bits of pink on the inside or plain white.

Pauline rolled her eyes

The rest of the girls just giggled.

Lily hummed as she scattered seeds. She was sure that Agnetha would agree with her that big lawns of grass, grass, and more grass were nothing but a waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There, all caught up! Hopefully we'll be able to stick to the schedule now.

Antonia did call begging for help moving things. Bjorn offered up his truck and so while half the girls stayed behind to do the daily chores and check ups around the Manor, the rest went with Bjorn to New Hillcrest going through an empty farm in Epona.

Bjorn told them about the area as he drove slowly so they could keep up.

“But the Dews disappeared. Don’t know who owns the olive farm now,” Bjorn sucked on the stem of the edible flower he kept in his mouth.

“Then, who are we to pay to get the olives,” Melody asked.

“Isn’t Maya over in Moorland a Dew?” Regina added.

Pauline nodded. “She is!”

“Well, she’ll know what happened here with her family,” Lily said. “We can ask her on the way back.”

Bjorn muttered about the trees in the road in the Marsh and how the New Hillcrest mayor wouldn’t look beyond their own nose despite their whole “planned” town. “If no one can get to your town because of trees in the road, what good is it,” he said crankily as they dragged big logs out of the road with improvised rope hoists from his truck.

Antonia had a good portion of her things packed up but not all of it. And she’d run out of boxes. So, they ran over to Jamie Olivetree the local (and horrid) baker to see if she had any and if any of the other stores had boxes they could use. They came back with boxes from Jamie and the different clothing stores and were able to finish packing up Antonia’s stuff quickly, carefully packing all the items with newspaper.

“I know the cottage is smaller. I mean, I’m getting rid of a lot of stuff. I was so hopeful when I moved here that the Winterwells would want a restaurant other than Jamie and nothing opened up.” Antonia raked a hand through her hair.

“But the Baroness wants one and that’s even better,” Regina said as she wrapped up some lamps. They loaded her things into Bjorn’s truck and boxes onto the horses and Antonia locked her house for the last time. “Let me go drop this key off with the Mayor,” she said.

Lily accompanied her and they informed the Mayor about both the new Restaurant and Event area opening soon at the Manor but also the Farmer’s Market run by the Summer Chipmunks. The Mayor sounded pleased about it all.

Bjorn grumbled. “Now if she’d be pleased enough to clear the roads.”

They headed back at the same pace as before.

Lily promised to meet them at the Village after she went and talked to Maya. She trotted off to Moorland.

“Maya!” She called out and waved as she got close. “You probably don’t remember me, I’m Lily. I was a camper here.”

Maya leaned on her shovel. “You’re right. I don’t remember you.”

“There are a lot of campers, it’s no matter,” Lily said. “Say, Bjorn, the Silverglade Manor gardener says that big old farm in Eastern Epona belongs to your family. We’re opening a Mediterranean restaurant,”

Maya held up her hand. “Belonged,” she said dryly and a little bitterly. “The G.E.D. bankrupted us and bought us out.”

Lily bit her tongue as not to swear. “I’m so sorry, Maya.”

Maya slumped. “Yeah. What are you going to do?”

“We’re going to help, that’s what we’re going to do,” Lily put her hands on her hips. “We aren’t going to give G.E.D. and the likes of Mr. Kemball money. And it’s not like they’re guarding it or doing anything with it from the looks of it. We need the olives for the restaurant.”

“It’s too late,” Maya moaned.

“It isn’t. Look, where did your family go to?”

“There’s a farm in the Forgotten Fields. But forget it, they won’t deal with you. They hide every time someone comes along. We’re ashamed. That farm in Epona had been in our family for generations.”

“And we’re going to help you get it back.”

“How?”

“By paying you for materials for the Restaurants. Look, the Manor is opening a restaurant and doing events. The Forgotten Fields is _right across_ the South Silver Waters, right? Then, we give orders to _you._ You give them to your family and we’ll pay you for it. And we’ll tell other restaurants that are going to be opening soon to also use your family’s farm with their orders.”

“We can’t supply all of it!”

“Maybe, maybe not, there are a lot of farms in the area and they aren’t going to have everything we need either. But if all the families and tenant farmers got together and worked together so that everyone was growing different things with enough overlap there’s enough, everyone will benefit and your family will be making money again. You can get your farm back. Especially, since you’re the only family that does olives and we’re going to need a lot of those.”

Maya looked skeptical.

“Look, the Summer Chipmunks are putting together a Farmer’s Market.” Lily got out her phone and scribbled down the President’s number. “You take your family’s goods there and we can figure out what your family needs to plant in order to make money while they work to get their Olive Farm back. And, hey, if we do it right. Your family will have two thriving farms instead of one. It’s a traditional Greek menu this summer, we’re going to need olives, tomatoes, and cucumbers. We’re going to need milk for yoghurt and the different cheeses. We’re going to need chicken, beef, and lamb. I’m not sure about eggs because she might be using the duck eggs from all the ducks at the Manor.”

Maya looked dazed.

“Antonia, the head chef, is moving into Silverglade today. She’s going to want to talk to all her local suppliers. You want your family to be on that list.”

Maya burst into tears and then latched onto Lily. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. No one has had any ideas, any _good_ ideas.”

“Hey,” Lily patted her back. “This area is about to see a revival. You’ll see.”

Maya nodded, let her go, and wiped her eyes. “Thanks.”

“I’ll talk to the President of the Summer Chipmunks about encouraging Steve and the others to come up with a farmer’s collective. I know the Sunfields have a creamery and that the Goldspurs and Will have flour mills.”

Maya nodded again. “Most of the farmers barely talk to each other. Jasper has a Pumpkin Farm in the Golden Hills.”

“Pumpkin is more of a fall thing,” Lily murmured. “I’ll go tell him about it. He can’t be as cranky as he was before.”

Maya wiped her eyes. “I hope not.”

Justin jogged over. “Hey, no upsetting the help.”

“Happy tears, Justin, happy tears!”

“Oh,” Justin rocked on his heels. “Things going okay over there in Silverglade.”

“We’re going to make a huge difference. You’ll see. Things are going grand,” Lily assured him.

Justin glanced at Maya who had composed herself.

“If you’re sure,” Justin said. “Since, you’re making Maya cry and all.”

“It is classified information, Moorland,” Lily said. “You aren’t authorized to know.”

Justin pouted. “Be that way.”

Lily winked at Maya.

Maya bit her lip.

“We don’t want G.E.D. to get wind of our nefarious counter plots,” Lily whispered.

Maya nodded rapidly.

Lily looked down her nose at Justin. “Well, I best be off, much counter insurgency to attend to.”

Justin scoffed.

Maya gave her a thumbs up.

Reassured that she’d made someone’s day better, Lily went to help Antonia finish unpacking and tell her about the fate of the Dew’s farm. Antonia was flabbergasted. “How could they do that? No. You’re right. I’m not giving G.E.D. any money. Not after the things they’ve done. We’ll get the money to the proper owners of the farm.”

“I don’t want to scare them by going to explore their farm now,” Lily fretted.

“Hopefully, someone will turn up at the first Farmer’s Market,” Linn said. “Even if it is only Maya. She can relay the news to her family. If they don’t want to be seen, then Maya can be their public face.”

“And she’s cute, people will be sympathetic since she’s cute.”

“Well, she mentioned Jasper has a bigger farm in the Golden Hills. He grows Pumpkins.”

“I don’t need pumpkins until at least October.” Antonia made a face.

“We can tell him that,” Lily grinned.

Once Antonia was settled, Lily and the other girls decided to check out the Golden Hills. “We used the transports, I only really saw the village,” Lily said to Abigail.

“We were on a timed schedule,” Pauline told her. “There are a lot of villages!”

They all laughed.

They rode down the road instead of winding through the dead gardens.

Jennifer sighed. “That is going to be a _lot_ of work.”

“I don’t think Agnetha cares.”

They went past the Riding Arena. Sabine still practiced inside, though she’d hired someone else to time her.

The road led to a large iron gate and on the other side was the Golden Hills.

“So,” Lily asked slowly, “are the Golden Hills, _golden?_ ”

There was some giggling.

“I mean, this isn’t like the Golden Fields that used to be canola flower fields.”

“You think they’ll do anything about that,” Melody mused, meaning the Summer Chipmunks.

“Not our area,” Elsa said.

“Oh thank goodness,” a couple said together.

The Golden Hills were indeed _golden._ And they’d be more golden in the fall, Lily observed. However, now it was high summer so it a soothing blend of green and eye catching yellows. The Birch Trees continued on the other side of the gate. Their leaves would turn gold in the fall.

But among the Birch Trees were trees with green leaves and long chains of yellow flowers.

“What are these?” Lily asked Linn.

“Golden Chain Trees,” Linn said.

“Pretty,” Lily said.

Now, the girls from other places weren’t sure if it was accident or by design, but the many different bushes and flowers of the Golden Hills area that they noticed as they rode down the road to get to Jasper’s Pumpkin Farm were some color of _yellow._

There were three bushes that were yellow that no one knew the names of. Though one had bunches of white flowers.

For flowers, Lily recognized goldenrod, though it was more of a weed than a flower. There were black eyed susans, yellow pansies and yellow daylilies. Grace, who knew more about flowers, pointed out yellow primroses, yarrow and of course, there were buttercups and some yellow snap dragons. There were also yellow impatiens.

This was fun according to Grace, because snap dragon seed pods looked like skulls and impatiens seed pods exploded when you touched them. There was a funny looking round flower that was called a Billy Button. The Garden Tickseed had bright yellow flowers with burgundy centers.

Elsa wanted to know if the people of the Golden Hills went out and just ripped out anything that wasn’t yellow. That made Linn and Tyra laugh. There were Mums and Marigolds for the fall of course. Right now they were growing as green plants and shrubs not yet flowering. And in Spring, among the birches, Linn said there were yellow daffodils as far as the eye could see.

“Those are _bulbs,_ ” Grace said looking down.

“They push out the tulips,” Linn said.

“Well, tulips aren’t currency anymore,” Grace sniffed.

There were some giggles.

They explored a bit before actually going to Jasper’s farm. The Golden Hill’s forest was a huge Birch forest and there was a race there run by a girl named Emma. The race itself had jumps and such of fallen trees and big rocks. The pumpkins were trying to take over the forest around Jasper’s farm. The pumpkins were still small and not at all ready to be picked yet. They told Jasper about the Farmer’s Market and that in the Fall, the chef of the Silver Glade was planning on using Pumpkin for something.

“Pumpkin and Pumpkin Spice is all the rage in fall,” Jasper agreed. He thanked them for the information.

They returned to Silverglade feeling they’d done their part to help out the Summer Chipmunks.

* * *

The next day the decorator arrived. He’d seen the pictures. He’d seen the ideas. He wanted to get his own take on the space. And, he wanted hard numbers. He needed to know exactly how many people they could sit in there because that was going to help determine how much money they could make for the floor space and how much each seat was going to cost.

Antonia nodded along and talked about food pricing and how she wanted to keep it low by sourcing from local vendors.

Linda hung off to the side and had the girls help her take pictures of the goings ons as a couple of the other girls were given measuring tapes and told what needed to be measured.

“For a nice modern space, we do want it to be something neutral, but not _taupe,_ ” the decorator raved. “We’re calling it the Silver Glade, then grey, grey that actually says something. French grey, dove grey, something warm so it’s not _cold_ and then if we use more classical furniture in darker colors it will stand out like the dark slashes on the paper birch trees.”

“He’s making this up, right?” Stacy asked Theresa in a low voice.

Theresa shrugged.

“French paneling, definitely, Le George has that right,” the decorator nodded. “And these windows are spectacular. We don’t want to draw away from them and this gorgeous view of this amazing reflecting pool with curtains. “No. No. No.”

Agnetha presented him with a board of the different flowers she expected to put into the back gardens and the array of roses.

“Brilliant,” he said. “And you said the Baroness loves purple?”

“It’s a Winery, she adores purple,” Elsa said dryly.

“All right, we’ll have the Wedgewood intaglio vases and they’re smaller and then we can also have large purple glass vases to put the roses into and I know an artist who can make us purple and clear glassware for the tables. Let the purple of the glassware and the flowers be the only colors in the room to draw the eyes to exactly where you want them. Otherwise, use greys and silvers. There’s a plaster artist I know that can do a plaster bas relief above the doors like at the Le George if we want.”

“That sounds great,” Antonia said. “Anything to make this place seem posh and upscale and reflect the Mediterranean but still be classic.”

“Fresh and young,” Lily reminded them.

“That will be the purple glass,” the decorator said. “I think I have a handle on it. Up the stairs we go.”

He raved of the view from the roof. “All right, here is my thinking. We’re definitely going to want the same chairs. Though the ones in the dining room will be cushioned better. But I saw these antique roman style chairs like you wanted with something similar to the Silverglade Clan swirl on the back. We can have them up here and down there with grey or silver cushions. No grannie is going to want to come all the way up these stairs for a meal, so downstairs will be much more comfortable with back support cushions too. Otherwise, Ms. Agnetha, plant your roses everywhere for a romantic look and don’t worry about vases overly much. We can put some lights on the pillars here and along the walls if necessary among the flower boxes and call it a day.”

Everyone looked relieved that this probably wasn’t going to be a huge deal.

“We can get the flowers and lights in before the furniture arrives,” Agnetha reassured him.

“And I’ll be off to hire some workers to do the walls of down below and get my artist friend on the line.” He beamed at them. “We’ll need a chandelier in the same style as the rest,” he murmured making notes as he went.

“He seems to know what he’s doing at least,” Lily said.

“Relief,” Grace wiped her forehead. “I was worried he would call the place hopeless.”

“It’s a big empty room,” Elsa said.

Antonia leaned against a pillar. “This doesn’t quite feel real.”

“It will soon enough,” Lily told her.

Agnetha dusted her hands together. “Better get the lights order in then for up here.”

“Anastasia might have already.”

“Pish, she might have put in an order for designs, but she doesn’t know how many we need,” Agnetha said.

Lily decided to let Agnetha, the decorator, Anastasia, and the lighting artist sort it out. It sounded way to dizzying for her to do. The other girls agreed with her. But it looked like things were going to pick back up again very quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	16. Chapter 16

She was correct, because the very next day she got a call from the President of the Summer Chipmunks, they wanted to have a meeting with all the new and upcoming riding clubs and the old ones in the South New Jorvik County area. The mayor of Silverglade said they could use the town hall as it was the most central location they could think of. It was time to collate information so they could have a great Farmer’s Market.

Lily texted back that she’d be there with Pauline and all the information she could get her hands on. It was that afternoon, and that was rather short notice, but Lily couldn’t really blame them.

So, they dressed in their uniforms and went to Silverglade. The Stable at Steve’s Farm was willing put up their horses for a small fee. They tugged their uniform straight and joined the others at the meeting.

There were a total of twelve riding clubs in South New Jorvik County. (No one was willing to claim Dino Valley apparently. Too cold.)

“Loretta declined to come,” the president of the Summer Chipmunks said as she shook Lily’s hand. “She didn’t see how it was any of her business. Lily, I just, want to say, that you and your Club is an inspiration to all of us. Really. We were all so frustrated with Loretta and the Bobcats. Seeing you stand up to her and leave to help the others around the County was a breath of fresh air.”

Lily flushed. “It wasn’t that brave or special.”

“It was!” Another girl said.

“All right, if everyone could be seated, we can begin with introductions,” the Summer Chipmunk’s girl said. “And, I say that Lily should lead this meeting as she’s the reason we’re all here.”

Lily blanched. “But,” she protested but found herself at the front of the room in the middle of the big table. “All right,” she murmured and sat down. “But I don’t have the agenda.”

“What agenda?” the President of the Summer Chipmunks murmured. “Just, go with your gut.”

Lily looked around. “Introductions then, I’m Lily of the Silver Drakes Riding Club. We’re based in the Silverglade Equestrian Center at Silverglade Manor and we report to Linda and the Baroness Annabella Silverglade. Pauline is a local and our Vice President and race master.”

Murmurs ran about the room. Having a club with contact with the Baroness was super important, Baraness Anabella was the power in the area and if she didn’t approve of what they were doing, they’d get nowhere.

Lily turned to the girl next to her in yellow and pink.

She wrinkled her nose. “I’m Kate, President of the Summer Chipmunks. We are helping out the four tenant farmers around Silverglade area that would be Steve’s Farm and Stable, Marley Summers, Barney Summers, and Landon’s Sheep Farm. My Vice President is Sally.”

Sally waved.

A girl in green with raspberry Celtic motifs stood up. “Hi everyone, my name is Melissa, and I’m President of the Valedale Running Bulls.” She waved. “We don’t really report to anyone though the druids are based in Valedale and my Vice President is Brooke.”

“Hello!” Brooke waved cheerfully.

Melissa sat.

Another girl stood up, she wore green and yellow in an argyle pattern. “Hi! I’m Pia and I’m the President of the Fort Pinta Pinto Ponies and our mutual VPs are locals Penny and Polly. Penny can’t be with us today. We’re um, trying to keep James at the Fort Pinta stable _honest_ and that’s a job and a half.”

There was some laughter around the room.

Pia sat.

A girl with blonde hair stood up, she wore brown and deep green and charcoal. “Ja, my name is Ingrid and I’m the President of the Firgrove Timber Wolves. My Vice President is Violet and there isn’t much happening in Firgrove.”

A girl in red, orange and gold was next. “Um, well, I’m the President of the Cape West Golden Hedgehogs. Err, I’m Riley by the way and my Vice President is Lauren. And I think we’re the club closest to the Silver Drakes.”

A girl with black hair stood up. “I’m Luciana. I recently moved here from Portugal with my horse Sirio. My friend Sonja and I have started the Dundull Flying Foxes with Emma. They are both locals.” Luciana quickly sat flushing heavily.

“Thank you, Luciana,” Lily smiled at her. “Who wants to go next?”

A girl stood up and she wore a nice show jumping riding outfit in navy and white. “Bonjour, I am Amelia and I’m the President of the Jorvik Stables Singing Swans. My Vice President is Josefina. We are reporting to Johanna and Herman at Jorvik Stables with an eye to helping out the tenant farmers around the Jarlaheim area. They would be the Sunfields, the Jarlssons, and the Goldspurs.” She sat.

Another girl stood, she was of Asian ancestry. She wore brown, maroon and gold. She smiled and bowed. “I am Ami and this is my friend Helen, we are the leaders of the Storm Garden Red Pandas. We’re helping the Li family turn their farm and winery into a premier spa destination.”

A girl in a green cardigan stood. “Hi, um, I’m Ginny of the New Hillcrest Bulldogz. This is my Vice President Lily Bones and um, yeah, we’re in New Hillcrest.” She sat back down.

“Does New Hillcrest not have an outfit?” Kate asked Lily in a quiet voice. “Silverglade has an outfit, it’s ugly but it’s something.”

“Loretta and her group wear those cardigans too.”

Kate made a face.

The last girl stood. She wore a white, navy and red brown outfit. “I’m Kelsey,” she said brightly. “Of the South Hoof Ramming Lambs and all the other names were worse and made us sound crazy.”

“Madison,” the girl next to her muttered.

“This is my friend Cathy and we’re really excited to be here.”

Lily cleared her throat. “Thank you all for coming. I’m sure you’ve all noticed that the South New Jorvik County area seems a little run down and there are a couple groups that are giving the folks in the area a hard time. Particularly, one Mr. Kemball of the Global Energy Domination Company, or G.E.D.”

“Subtle, he is not,” one of the girls said and tossed her hair.

“They are _everywhere,_ ” Amelia said. “We have a woman named Ms. Drake in Jarlaheim that claims to work for them.”

“They’re trying to take over the New Hillcrest Stables,” Ginny said. “Nathalie Moonriver doesn’t know what to do and a bake sale isn’t going to bring in enough money to fund the club and save the stable. Ricky Winterwell thinks if he can win a boxing competition.” She trailed off.

Lily spoke up. “Yeah, and Mr. Kemball has offered us money if we let his daughter join the Bulldogz.”

“It’s tempting,” Ginny fiddled with her fingers.

“You can have her join and not have to take his money,” Lily said. “We will find something!”

“They tried to sell the water in Dundull,” Luciana said. “Sigry was very upset. She ran for Mayor and won. They’ve been kicked out.”

“But they’ll be back,” Sonja said in dire tones. “They’ll be back.”

“Is there a local you can recruit,” Lily said.

“Oh yes, we have recruited Sigry’s daughter Rania to be part of our club. She’s full of information.”

“She’s also blind,” Sonja murmured.

“There’s nothing wrong with that. Her and Dellingr get more done than a lot of people with sight,” Luciana defended her choice to have Rania in the club.

“That’s a wonderful member,” Lily said.

The others spoke up and agreed.

“The G.E.D. have cut off access to the rest of Golden Hills Valley and the Pine Hills,” Melissa said. “We’ve had dealings with them while trying to help out the Observatory north of the Hollow Woods.”

“Like we said, everywhere,” one of the girls spoke up. “Trying to buy land and dig in places that aren’t theirs.”

“Da,” Ingrid said. “Even in Firgrove we have dealt with this Mr. Kemball. What he would want with an old run down farm, we don’t know.”

“The other corporation is Dark Core,” Lily said. “They’ve landed on Moorland beach but no one seems to know what they want.”

“Too bad Loretta doesn’t seem to care,” someone said and Lily couldn’t tell who it was.

“We can keep an eye on them from Fort Pinta,” Pia spoke up. “It is probably safer that way.”

Kelsey spoke up. “Dark Core is trying to steal the wild Welsh Ponies off of South Hoof. We’re scaring this Mr. Anwir away, but he has taken several out from under our noses. The family on the island isn’t taking this seriously.”

There were noises of outrage.

“In order to fight back,” Lily spoke up. “We have to give people reasons to come to our county, rent our horses, and use our services. However, there aren’t a lot of services to be had. That’s why at the Manor, we are encouraging the Baroness to put in some restaurants, rebuild her gardens, and have an event space. She also is trying to build an oval race track, but that seems to be stalled. Now, we have a chef, Chef Antonia, who wants to use local and fresh ingredients in her dishes. That’s why the Summer Chipmunks have talked about doing a Farmer’s Market. And did the Red Panda’s say they were doing something at the Storm Garden Winery.”

Ami stood again. “There are several empty buildings, including a stable. We’re renovating them to turn them into a grape based spa. They also have a maple tree orchard and a sugar shack. The Li family has roots in China. They wish this endeavor to reflect that and we’re hoping to have authentic and healthy Chinese fusion style dishes at our own restaurant.” She sat again.

Kate stood. “We also thought that while the Winery would be doing events such as weddings in their beautiful gardens, that the farmers could host events such as educational weekends for people who have never farmed before. There is a nice inn in Silverglade that could work. Also, maybe for an extra fee, this could be a weekend event for the Moorland Campers.”

Pia stood. “James does rent horses for trail rides. Though they aren’t that great of trail rides. We’re also helping a man named Ferdinand to set up a horse market outside of Doyle’s Abbey. He says he has the permission of the Baroness to be there. He supposedly has examples of all the horses available in South New Jorvik County and a special breed called a Fjord.”

“Fjords are adorable. They’re in between ponies and horses in size,” one of the girls squealed.

“How many horses are there in South New Jorvik County? Does anyone know?” Lily asked.

“And Moorland has the festival event space. Why isn’t Loretta here? We can’t organize festivals without her input. You know it.”

“We can also host events at Fort Pinta Beach,” Pia said. “There is also a dance club.”

“And Johanna has an Open House event at Jorvik Stables,” Amelie spoke up.

Pauline raised her hand. “All right, there are thirteen breeds of horses available in our county. There are 4 horses that are suitable for our many cross country events, the Jorvik Warmblood, English Thoroughbred, the Trakhner, and the Selle Francias. We have two ponies for sale, the Jorvik Starter Pony and the Welsh Pony. There are Three horses that aren’t ponies but aren’t horses either, that would be the Fjord, the Connemara, and the Icelandics who are wild in Dino Valley.”

“Good luck catching them,” someone said dryly.

“That’s nine,” Lily said.

“There are three draft horses, the Tinker horse, the Clydesdale, and the North Swedish. And lastly, and don’t ask me what this is doing here, in New Hillcrest there are Friesian and Friesian Sport horses. Those are _war_ horses and mostly used for _dairy._ ” Pauline put her phone down. “I understand Sirio is a Lusitano?” She asked Luciana.

“He is,” Luciana smiled.

“Yeah, they sell those up in Rockville where there is a lot of dressage with the other Iberians.” Pauline said. “Your showjumpers are in the Pine Hills and anything related to gymkhana is going to be further north than that. Silverglade really focusses a lot on cross country racing.”

They all nodded.

“The Baroness has the only credible riding arena in the area. Though there are a lot of empty paddocks that could be converted into show jumping or dressage training areas.” Pauline shrugged her shoulder.

“They claim the riding arena at Jorvik Stables is haunted,” Amelie said.

“Yes, all the stories say so,” Luciana agreed.

“Right, Jorvik Stables rivals the Silverglade Equestrian Center for size and amenities.” Pauline said. “Except, not haunted.”

“Perk,” Amelie said.

They laughed.

“Can we like, unhaunt it?” one of the girls asked. “I mean, it’s not right it’s just sitting there.”

“Who wants to mess with angry spirits?”

“We aren’t sure if it’s a spirit though,” Amelie said.

Luciana agreed. The stories didn’t say if it was a spirit or not, only that one of the riders training there had mysteriously disappeared overnight.

“Then don’t go in at night?”

There was more giggles.

“Right back to the Farmer’s Market,” Lily said. “I’m sure that the restaurant at the Storm Garden will want to use local produce too.”

Ami nodded. “We do. It seems only fitting. The Li’s are looking for a chef from their background to run the kitchen.”

They put together a list of farmers, the different clubs putting forth those in their area.

“We of the Silver Drakes really want to help the Dews, the family of Maya Dew at Moorland Summer Camp and Stables,” Lily said. “The G.E.D. bought their family olive farm out from under them and they’ve hidden themselves. We think that if we could give them enough business, they could get their family farm back.”

“What?” The local girls squawked.

“That’s horrible.”

“They’re evil.”

“That farm has been in their family for generations!”

“Of course we’re going to help them.”

“Maya doesn’t think they’ll accept money or, at least, they won’t come out of hiding to deal with us unless we can restore their pride and honor,” Lily said. “I was going to deal with Maya herself. I’ve invited her to the first Farmer’s Market.”

“Right and according to this list, we should have at least 18 vendors,” Kate said. “19 if we invite Will down from his Mill. If we can get all of them to come, that would be amazing.”

“We will drag them if necessary,” Sally said in a dry tone.

There was laughter.

“We need to emphasize that this is for the good of the entire county,” Lily tucked a stray hair behind her ear. “And that while we riding clubs might be in competition with each other at races and events that we’re together.”

“Except the Bobcats,” Ginny grumbled.

“Except the Bobcats in making this County a prosperous place to be,” Lily finished. “And if you need any help from anyone that we’re all here for each other. We’ll find a way to make Firgrove and Valedale as important as Silverglade Village and the Storm Garden Spa.”

“Even having the Farmer’s Market will be a great help,” Melissa said. “It will raise awareness of other villages.”

“And I think, maybe we can have the different cafes and stuff bring food to sell. That would be more vendors.”

“Arts and Crafts people too would be good if there are any in the area,” Kate nodded. “We want this to be a real farmer’s market.”

Pauline agreed. “And if they say they don’t want to come, tell them that they won’t get any business at all if they don’t show up.”

Ginny raised her hand. “Why don’t we all make displays about our riding clubs and our stables? Show up in uniform.”

“With pets!” Kate beamed.

“And have information ready for everyone who comes to check out the area.”

“That is a great idea, Ginny,” Lily said. “Make it so.” She gestured with her hand like Picard.

The girl’s laughed.

“You’re hanging out too much with Regina,” Pauline giggled.

The girls all moved around the big table in the middle of the room in order to put together information kits for each of the vendors including tentative menus or menu ideas for the new restaurants around town. (Including Courtney’s Café in Silverglade.)

Shaking hands with each other, they all split up to get the ball rolling on the South New Jorvik County Farmer’s Market.

* * *

Lily received a call from Luciana as they arrived back at the Silverglade Manor. Everyone had exchanged numbers. “Hello, Luciana, or however you say it in Portugese. What’s up?”

Luciana sounded like she was smiling. “I had a thought on the ride back to Dundull. Riding is very good for thinking. What if we did a special charity riding event for the Dews. Have riders solicit sponsors and run races or ride tracks to raise money.”

“That could work,” Lily said slowly. “But it’d be a lot of effort.”

“Dundull has no huge thing to offer for amenities, just lots of pretty riding trails and delicious spring water. What if the Flying Foxes take on this? We can organize different rides in different areas and solicit sponsorships at the Farmer’s Market. The only Dew that will be there is Maya.”

“Very shrewd,” Lily said. “That way Maya will know but her family won’t unless she tells them.”

“We might not raise a great deal, but we will raise some,” Luciana said.

“Let’s see if we can get some people to _match_ the donations,” Lily said. “I mean, that’s a thing. People out of Jorvik City.”

“Excellent thought!”

“I’ll have to introduce you to Anastasia Silverglade. This seems like something she can handle,” Lily said. She sighed. “But, you have to _flatter_ her and um, make certain that she’ll get a lot of credit and this will be huge in the media.”

“Understood,” Luciana sounded like she was laughing.

“Keep up the great thinking, Luciana. You’re a great asset,” Lily told her.

They signed off.

Pauline raised her brows.

“What?”

“You’re a natural leader,” Pauline said.

“It’s a great idea,” Lily defended.

“What if G.E.D. won’t sell?”

Lily picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Amelie,” she said. “I need you to dig up some dirt on the G.E.D.”

Amelie cackled. “I shall recruit Ami. She says something is going on in Hillcrest and that the G.E.D. may be behind it. Ginny can help too. It is near her stable. Plus, she can string Mr. Kemball along with the promised money for accepting his daughter.”

“Thanks,” Lily said. “You are a life saver.” She shut the phone and raised her eyebrows at Pauline.

“We’re just harmless stable girls,” Pauline mocked.

“Completely harmless.”

They reported to the rest of the Silver Drakes. The looks turned conniving and downright mischievous. They rubbed their hands together. Mr. Kemball wouldn’t know what hit him. He’d made some bad enemies the day he had tried to take over Moorland Stables.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	17. Chapter 17

Agnetha didn’t want to install any of the flowers on the rooftop until the lights came and that was going to take a few days. Instead, the decorator arrived with workmen to start converting the large empty room into a posh restaurant space. They came with trucks of supplies and thought it funny to have the girls grab hammers and crowbars and help them take out the old drywall. (It wasn’t in that great condition anyways.)

Not all the girls were needed to swing hammers. So, Agnetha decided it was time to start prepping the garden space behind the Manor. And there was _a lot_ of garden space to prep because Agnetha had decided that the chasm that the bridge between the manor and the North Paddock ran over would be the perfect start to the riding trail by making it into a series of rose arches. The top terraces, she declared would be rose gardens like the front of the house of mixed color roses. There was a terrace right in back of the house that had its own little path that she was turning into a sitting space for the Baroness. And another small terrace she decided would have a statue.

The next terrace was the old Moon Garden. Not that it was easy to tell what it was anymore given how much bracken and weeds were in the place. There was supposed to be a circular reflecting pool in the area to reflect light from the moon. According to Linda’s and Agnetha’s research, being part of the Druidic Moon Circle and seeing visions was a trait often found in the Silverglade Family. The garden was dedicated to the Moon Rider.

Agnetha’s plan was to fill that garden with a Rose called the Blue Moon Rose. They were light purple.

Agnetha’s plans showed that next to the large circular reflecting pool (once they could find it,) she wanted to put in a statue to the Moon Rider holding an urn that would make a waterfall to another water feature on the terrace below. Her plans also indicated a tunnel through the rock base of the riding paddock that didn’t _exist._

The next terrace would be the start of the Wild Follies, as Agnetha called them. Three terraces of roses, flowers, and grasses in whites and purples that when viewed together at the bottom near the Riding Arena would look like a white and purple _waterfall._

The first tier would have a “castle” for the ducks near the water feature that the waterfall was falling into. The middle Folly tier would have a Grecian inspired Band Stand for well, bands, or weddings. (She said that the rotunda in the roof top restaurant space could also be cleared of tables for the same purpose, something that Lily had texted to Anastasia.) Among the flowers, Agnetha also planned to have statues to celebrate the Silverglade Stable’s past Jorvik Warmblood champions.

The riding trail path would end at a large Grecian style pavilion across from the Riding Arena, a great place for weddings, company barbeques, receptions, and other large events. This would be surrounded by more of the prize roses, flowers, and wild grasses.

Then around behind the Riding Arena would be another area for the ducks.

It was all very exciting of course. But it was also all a complete mess. Agnetha’s first order of business was “getting rid of the damn chipmunks.” And according to her, there was another animal down by where the pavilion was supposed to be going. She wanted the riders to investigate and report back as to what it was and then they’d decide what they were going to do about it.

Ducks, Lily and the rest guessed, were as many animals that Agnetha was going to allow free range in her gardens. No chipmunks, no whatever they were down by the gate to Cape West and definitely no… snakes. (Everyone agreed that snakes would make them scream.) Agnetha had ordered some humane chipmunk traps. They needed to be picked up at Silverglade.

So, while a couple girls rode down to the Riding Arena to find out what the animals by the gate were, another couple of girls went and picked up the chipmunk traps from the Post Office at Silverglade.

Derek gave them a patient look. “I guess, I’m going to be seeing a lot of you girls.”

They just fluttered their eyelashes, signed for the packages and said things like “you know you’d miss us if we didn’t show up regularly.”

“At least it’s not dynamite,” he mumbled.

“Dynamite! Who wanted dynamite!” Theresa’s eyes went as big as saucers.

“The Valedale girls, something about putting a lift up to the Observatory by North Link, that’s supposed to be shipped in by helicopter in a few days.”

“A lift?”

“Dynamite?”

“A _lift?_ ”

They talked about it all the way back to the Manor. Agnetha huffed and told them that the best way to trap a chipmunk was with _peanut butter._ They baited the traps with peanut butter and set them out.

The other girls returned. “Hedgehogs,” Grace said.

Bjorn shook his head. “The garden is going to be too busy for them to be able to nest properly. They need someplace quiet with a lot of leaves.”

“Like the Golden Hills forest?” Lily asked. “Let me get ahold of Riley.”

“Who’s Riley?” Agnetha asked, suspicious.

“She’s the President of the Cape West Golden Hedgehogs Riding Club,” Lily said and input numbers. “Hey, Riley, how are things over in the Cape?”

“They are in need of a post office and some dedicated beach cleaners,” Riley said. “Otherwise, not much going on here at all outside of some smugglers. How can I help you?”

Lily looked at the phone. “Smugglers,” she said slowly. “Ohkay.”

“Oh yeah, they’re nice guys. Like cookies.”

“We’ve got a hedgehog conundrum. I hesitate to call it a problem. But um, we have some nesting in our garden area near the Golden Hills gate. Do you think you can find a spot for them somewhere in the Golden Hills where it’d be quieter?”

“Definitely,” Ingrid said. “Our vet has trained us to handle them and everything. Hedgehogs are super cute and they make good pets. I’ll send a couple girls to meet you by the gate and we’ll get them rounded up and taken care of for you. Though, it might take a few tries to get them all.”

“That’s great.”

“An hour?”

“See you in an hour,” Lily confirmed. She shut the phone. “The Golden Hedgehogs will take them. Apparently, they make great pets.”

Agnetha stared at her. “What have you girls been up to?”

“Oh, just forging alliances and counter insurgency,” Regina said brightly.

“All for the good of South New Jorvik County,” Brittany added.

“Girl _power,_ ” Regina shook her fist.

Agnetha nodded slowly.

“All right, let’s see what weeds we can get cleared in the garden today,” Tyra said and went for the tools.

Agnetha looked bewildered.

A couple of girls headed back to the gate with rakes and brooms just in case. The girls helping with the renovation had gotten some shovels from the stables and were helping shovel out the drywall debris, masks and handkerchiefs both over their noses and mouths. Safety first!

Riley was overwhelmed by the cuteness of the hedgehogs. She agreed though that they would be better off in the Golden Hills forest. So, the girls carefully herded them there with the brooms and rakes making sure not to hurt them. They chatted along the way. Apparently, there was a witch that lived in a marsh to the north of the Golden Hill’s forest and she was protected by a wolf pack.

The wolves were friendly enough if you fed them. Though, the vet said they really shouldn’t. But the Golden Hedgehogs thought the witch might be in league with Dark Core. Supposedly, there might be a way to reverse some of her condition and make her a ‘good witch’ again. But they were still working out the kinks.

The hedgehogs trundled off into the forest happily enough. Riley and the others promised they’d set up some nesting sites for them.

“And we’ll go rake and clean up that area outside our gate. Hopefully, it won’t attract more.”

“You know what to do now though,” Riley grinned.

“We do, thanks for helping us out.”

“Oh, anything for a cute hedgey hog,” Riley winked.

They bumped knuckles and parted ways. Riley back to Cape West and them back to the Manor.

Lily had to pause and stare over the South Silver Waters. “So, over there somewhere hiding is the Dew Family.”

“We’ll draw them out eventually, Pres,” Grace said. “I know it.”

Lily nodded and they rode back up to the Manor itself to join the other work crews.

* * *

The next morning, while doing their usual chores like cleaning the stable, feeding the ducks, and other rounds. They checked the chipmunk traps and by golly, peanut butter had done the trick. They were full.

Lily called Kate. “Kate! I have chipmunks. Lots and lots of chipmunks. Are you _sure,_ you want them?”

“Oh, yes, please! The Spymaster up in Valedale has made a request through Melissa. He needs more chipmunk and squirrel spy volunteers.”

“I have a feeling you’re being absolutely serious and I don’t want to think about that too hard,” Lily rubbed her forehead.

“Welcome to Jorvik?” Kate asked.

Lily giggled. “All right, I’ll send the girls over to you with the cages.”

“We’ll have cabbage at the ready!” Kate said. “And thanks, this is a huge help.”

“Oh, you say that now. You haven’t seen how many chipmunks we have!” Lily told her.

Kate just giggled more.

So, a group headed off to Silverglade to deliver chipmunks. One group continued to help with the restaurant renovations and the rest of them returned to weeding the garden. They could only do so much before the composter was filled and they had to let it work. (Good thing it was a fast composter.)

When the group returned they had news. The pavilion had gone up for the Farmer’s Market. It was on the edge of the Golden Fields near Barney’s farm and within eyeshot of the Fort Pinta Horse Market.

“Sounds like we might have a festival going on,” Lily said.

“Well, we’ve got so many vendors, they’re talking about another pavilion.” Linn reported.

“All to the good, I say,” Stacy nodded. “I’m going to go show Linda the pictures for her Jorvikgram.”

“Yes, let’s generate some buzz!” Regina pumped her fist.

Lily grinned and waved them away.

* * *

The next day, the restaurant area had been stripped completely of old drywall and the rather boring ceiling. (There was no need to save it when there wasn’t anything interesting about it.) Before anymore renovations could begin, the walls and ceiling needed to be inspected to make sure they were sound and improvements made to the joists and stringers if things were wrong.

While they waited for the inspector, the girls helped the renovators with the electrical wire for the lighting. It had to be done to code or things could go very wrong and there could be a fire or electrocutions. No one wanted that!

Well, the inspector didn’t want to climb ladders. Which was an odd thing for an inspector, so the girls climbed the ladders and took pictures of things for him. Turned out, he’d sprained his back recently by falling off a ladder. He was a bit skittish about getting back on one and that made sense. He also was still in pain. They took the best photos they could for him and he declared the area sound and made noises about the electrical wire complimenting the workers on their skills.

“You girls can learn a lot from work like this,” he told them, tipped his hard hat and left.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged.

“Excellent, we can get this all closed up.” The head renovator said.

They did a last sweep up and mop down of the floors and stood to the side as the renovators hauled in big sheets of drywall and paneling. There wasn’t a lot they could do to help, but they were able to lift up and take panels over to them, or tape, or screws as they called for them. A couple of the renovators put on _stilts_ in order to do the ceiling. “Let’s get this vaulted up again.”

By the time the day was over, the room had walls again and areas where wires hung out. Now, the plaster needed to dry overnight before it could be sanded down and painted. The artist doing the plaster art over the door would also be coming tomorrow to do that.

Linda’s Jorvikgram was getting busy! Generating a lot of hits and excitement as she posted pictures of the restaurant under construction, Antonia the chef setting up her kitchen, the pavilions in the Golden Fields and the chipmunks out of the gardens.

Things were _happening!_

* * *

The next day, Linda asked Lily to go pick up the plaster artist from Fort Pinta. By the time she returned with the woman, the girls had finished up the chores around the stables and had scattered to weed gardens, capture chipmunks, and herd more hedgehogs to the Golden Hills birch forest.

There were a group of girls in masks and handkerchiefs (safety first) helping the renovators sand down the plaster on the seams of the walls to make everything nice and smooth.

Lily dropped off the plaster artist and had to turn around and go pick up her supplies of plaster of paris at Silverglade Post Office, and the paint that the decorator had ordered. She rolled her eyes.

“It’s not that hard to send me a text.”

“Think of your horse!”

Lily left again and returned. She helped them get the room ready. They spread out drop cloths and taped off the windows. There were walls to paint and plaster to mix together for the artist to put onto the wall. Then they had to clean the rollers. They painted the walls French grey and the ceiling white.

The decorator declared that it was going to need one more coat of paint the next day.

So, that’s what happened again the next day, another coat of paint and the artist finished up their plaster work.

It was really quite nice looking they all thought as they picked up drop clothes, took off the tape from around the windows and then mopped the floors. They helped the renovators load everything into their truck and waved them good bye.

Which was a fine thing, because the lights had come in at Silverglade Post Office.

Derek raised his brows. “You again?”

“Hah, hah, very funny,” Lily said and took their shipment.

As they rode back, Lily smiled, the wild carnations were beginning to bloom in the big lawns. Soon, they’d be the Silver Fields not only in name.

They set up the lights on the walls and hung the chandelier. They lugged boxes carefully up to the roof and put up the lights there along the edge of the roof and on the pillars of the rotunda and even a small chandelier inside the dome of it.

Agnetha declared herself satisfied. The flowers for the roof would be here tomorrow _and_ the arches for the rose tunnel. Not to worry, she was sending Bjorn with the truck to get it all.

They all thanked her, even though they knew they shouldn’t. Because, deep down, they knew that there was probably going to be more than rose arches and plants in that truck. And that they would be the ones doing a lot of the work to set things up. Sure, they’d signed up for this willingly and encouraged it. It was still _work._

They weren’t wrong.

There were two trucks the next morning. One truck had the rose arches, flowers, and lots and lots of the lamps Agnetha had commissioned for the Manor with the horse bases and globes. The second truck had a load of tables and chairs for the restaurant.

The girls split into teams. One team started setting up the rose arch tunnel under Agnetha’s direction. There was to be a rose arch, an urn, a rose arch, and then a lamp. These were staggered of course, so that each lamp was across from an urn. They planted climbing roses at the bases of different colors of white and purple. The end of the ‘tunnel’ split off into two. One part of the tunnel continued towards Bjorn’s and Agnetha’s cottage towards the Moon Garden and the other branch turned towards the first terrace rose garden. The arches that headed towards the moon garden started out dark purple and faded to light purple, the Blue Moon rose that was to be the staple of the Moon Garden.

The tables and chairs of the restaurant had one thing in common, they were heavy carved wooden pieces of furniture stained dark brown. Before they could put them in, they had to roll out a large area rug that was silvery grey with a Greek key around the edge in white and a leaf design in the middle.

They lugged more tables and chairs up the stairs to the roof, putting them out by the directions of the decorator. These chairs had less cushions than the ones downstairs.

Everyone was groaning by the time they were finished, but it looked nice, a real good start to the restaurant. They high fived each other.

Because tomorrow was the first Farmer’s Market in Silverglade! And they all thought that they had earned the break!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	18. Chapter 18

The next morning, they were up early and eating toast on the run as they ran around the Manor doing maintenance chores and getting ready. Even Linda was excited. She was going to cover it all on her social media. Antonia had ingredients that needed to be taken down to her outdoor kitchen at the pavilion where she’d be making a smaller version of the menu, mostly the lunch and dessert items with the chicken soup.

They loaded all the boxes up on their horses with the items for their display, choosing the most loyal of ducks to go with them and made quite the parade to Silverglade with Antonia riding ahead of them on her scooter like a pacer. (Linda got several pictures.)

Sally met them with a clipboard. “The Silver Glade Fine Dining is in the food pavilion. We have had to put up _three_ pavilions!” Her eyes got big. “This has been amazing. There’s a card with your name on it for your spot, Chef Antonia.”

Antonia nodded and the girls with the boxes of food went with her.

“And we’ve set up an entire section for the Clubs in Pavilion two with the crafters,” Sally said and checked her clipboard.

“Got it!” Lily saluted.

“Pavilion one is the farmers,” Sally said. “And Andy has put in a petting zoo.”

“Good of him,” Regina grinned. “We’ll go get set up.”

“Oh, and while Loretta and Tan didn’t have anything to do with the planning, they’re more than willing to take advantage of the publicity,” Sally curled her lip. “So, they’re here too. Just a warning. But so is Justin with a display about Camp.”

They made faces and nodded at her before heading inside tent two. They set up their display, a big board about the Silverglade Equestrian Center with pictures of everything underway and everything they hoped to accomplish.

The ducks settled into a barrel full of straw they’d brought with them. They had big bows around their necks similar to the one that the Baroness had on the back of her dress.

Lily went around and shook all the President’s hands, including Loretta’s, and thanked them for coming. The others gushed. Except Loretta, she sniffed.

Across the way, Lily could see Ferdinand’s Horse Market, though there was a farmer’s wall and a couple fields between them. You didn’t need binoculars to see their horses. “I’m going to go over, say hi, and see if they want to send someone over to direct tourists to check them out.” She got on her horse, waved, rode over.

“Morning!” She called out to the older couple who were getting some horses settled.

“Morning,” the older and somewhat portly man smiled at her.

“I’m Lily of the Silver Drakes Riding Club,” she slid off her horse. “And um, I’m sure Pia has been by to tell you that today we’re having a Farmer’s Market by the Golden Fields. And, you’re more than welcome to send someone to direct them down here to check out your beautiful horses.”

Ferdinand beamed at her. “Pia did tell us that was going on. We’ve been watching those pavilions going up with quite a bit of interest.”

Eddie nodded. “Thank you for riding over to tell us what’s going on. Oye! Goofy Lars!” She raised her voice only slightly. She didn’t want to scare the horses. “You go with this young lady and tell folks about our horse market, you hear?”

“Sure thing, Eddie,” Goofy grinned. He chose one of the horses and tacked it up.

Lily smiled. “Pia might be by later to tell you again, or Kate, the leader of the Summer Chipmunks.”

“We’ll be just as appreciative of them as of you. Might want to go take a gander myself later,” Eddie said. “But can’t leave the horses by themselves.”

“I’ll mention it to the other clubs. We can spell you for a bit so you can check it out. Course, they might want to buy your horses after,” Lily said with a sly smile and twinkling eyes.

Ferdinand laughed.

Eddie smirked.

Lily tugged on her hat. She mounted her horse and joined Goofy Lars. “So, is there a reason they call you Goofy?”

He shrugged and pretended to fall off his horse.

“Right,” Lily giggled and they rode off together.

People other than the vendors were beginning to arrive when they returned. The chefs were meeting each other and shaking hands talking about their menus for the day and where they were situated.

There was a blonde man with a mustache named Mario who claimed he was from the observatory. He was dreadfully French. He wanted to put in an eatery and a store up there. But the only way anyone could get up there was if there was a reliable lift to get there. Melissa reassured him that they were working on it. Lily said she might have the perfect chef for him. Did he like bouillabaisse?

He adored bouillabaisse.

Lily gave him the French chef’s number. She hadn’t gotten five feet before Mario was on the phone and grilling them about their different French dishes and if they wanted a _job._

Melissa tapped her shoulder. “Thank you. We had no idea who to ask.”

Lily smiled. “Not a problem. That chef’s nose is probably out of joint since the Baroness hired Antonia. He’ll probably leap at the chance to have a restaurant in the sky so to speak. Maybe you can get Franz’ restaurant plans he had before taking up with Courtney out of him.”

“Which one is Franz?” Melissa asked. “And Courtney?”

“Courtney Summers, big girl in the farmer’s cap,” Lily tugged her over to the restaurant tent and pointed Courtney out. “She probably has a bunch of sandwiches and is doing fried chicken wings.”

“Oh, _her,_ ” Melissa said.

“Real snooty attitude, better deal with him.”

Melissa nodded and trotted off to chat up Franz.

Lily went to check out the farmer’s tent. Each of the farmer’s had made up a display or the different clubs had help them make up displays. Lily wasn’t sure. There were pictures and they all had produce and finished products on their tables.

The first farmer was Steve’s Farm and Stable. Steve was a grain farmer. He grew wheat, oats, and corn. His fallow fields were full of alfalfa and hay that he used to help feed the Tinker Horses he kept at the stable. The other farmers paid him to rent the horses to plow their fields. They were cheaper, sort of, than tractors. Though, they did have some smaller tractors they could use if the horses got stubborn.

And horses could get stubborn.

Steve was the reason why there was the grist mill on top of the hill. Most of the places around got flour to make bread and such from Will’s Mill that was supplied with grain from Steve!

Steve also, along with the Baroness, and the Camp, supplied a lot of the fertilizer that the farmers put out on their fields to keep them nitrogen rich. Horse manure was richer than cattle manure.

He was the leader of the little farming cooperative around Silverglade.

Landon was a sheep farmer. And his sheep provided milk, meat, and wool. He tended them out on the Everwind Fields. It could be lonely. The sheep helped the grass stay short though. But sheep could be delicate and they got bugs and things. They were constantly wandering off too. That’s why he was grateful to have the Summer Chipmunks around. They were farm girls and knew the signs. They also had a good knack for finding strays.

Barney and Marley Summers were brothers. (They were related to Carney and Courtney. Lily sensed a theme.) They both had produce farms. They grew things like potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, turnips, peas, beans, onions, garlic, spinach, and the like. They sold a lot of their produce to Jorvik City high end restaurants and were thrilled that more restaurants like that would be coming to the area.

While the Vineyard wasn’t really a farm, there was a small display about it with grapes and flats of duck eggs that had been brought down by Godfrey in his car. (No one really wanted to trust eggs to horses.) The Silver Drakes had help him unload it.

In Valedale, there was a dairy farmer. However, every day they shipped their milk off to the Sunfield Creamery over by Jarlaheim. Their cattle were free range cattle that wandered about the oaks of the Hollow Woods. They supplemented their feed with alfalfa and the cows were heavy creamers. They made a decent living off of this.

Andy, he who had set up the petting zoo, had a sheep farm in Firgrove. Or, he had sheep and no farm. He wasn’t really old enough to own a farm yet. He had some chickens but not enough to do more than supply the local cafes and his grandmother’s pancake cakes. He mentioned that there was an abandoned farm out by the mountains he had his eye on for when he was older. But, he had to beware of wolves and the bear who saw his sheep as easy meals.

There was also a large apple orchard in Firgrove run by a rather boisterous family. They’d tried other trees, but apples had liked the area best. They too sold a lot of their apples to Jorvik City. Though the stables did buy their fair share as treats for the horses.

And that was the main Silverglade area farms.

Lily hugged Maya. “I’m so glad you came.”

“So am I,” Maya said and she brandished a sheaf of papers. “Look at all these orders,” she looked ready to cry. “When we said we were an animal farm for eggs, milk, and meat, they almost overwhelmed me with things they needed.”

“That’s wonderful, Maya.”

“And, your Chef Antonia gave me shillings to cover the olives she’s been taking from the farm. I can’t believe it. It’s working. You were right.”

Lily beamed at her. “That’s great. Antonia is really mad about what G.E.D. is doing to your family. We all are. In fact, where is Luciana?”

Luciana was deep in talks with Anastasia Silverglade.

“Anastasia,” Lily said and tugged Maya forward. “This is Maya Dew of the Epona Dew family.”

“Yes, my darling, Luciana and I were just talking about your family’s little predicament.” Anastasia gushed. “With the right publicity, we will be able to wrap this up before summer is over and get your family back where they belong.” She kissed Maya’s cheeks. “You leave it to us.”

Maya blinked. “I don’t understand.”

“We are doing a charity event to help your get your farm back,” Luciana explained. “Organized trail rides that riders will get sponsors for, the more trails they do, the more their sponsors will pay them! Anastasia has friends in the city that will match the amount of the private donations. We’re all very excited.”

Maya’s face slackened. “You, you’d do that for us, but, we’re nobodies.”

“You are an integral part of this county,” Anastasia said. “And we aren’t going to let the G.E.D. bully our people into hiding.” She stamped her foot. “My mother is going to hear about this, I swear it.”

“Hear about what, Anastasia dear,” Annabella Silverglade said in her bland but frosty tone.

Anastasia put her arm around Maya’s shoulder. “Mother, please meet Maya Dew of the Dew family. They had a lovely olive farm in Eastern Epona, but that _wretched_ Ms. Drake and Mr. Kemball of the G.E.D. have run them out. They’re now hiding somewhere in shame.” Anastasia glared at her mother. “We can’t let them control _our_ lands.”

“Of course not,” Annabella said. “They should have come to me immediately.”

“Well, they own the land now, but we have _plans_ mother,” Anastasia raised her chin.

“I’m more than willing to hear them.”

“Ms. Luciana, these are your ideas, please explain,” Anastasia said, her tone imperious.

Luciana explained the idea to the Baroness as best she could.

Annabella nodded along. “Put down our Winery for one of the corporate backers.” She said to Anastasia. “We’ll get your farm back, young lady and run that horrible corporation out of my county for _good._ ”

Maya nodded pale and her eyes wide.

“Silverglades know how to get things done,” Annabella declared and then moved off.

Thomas Moorland moved over. “And put down the Moorland Summer Camp as well. We support you, young missy.”

Maya burst into tears.

Thomas reached out, grabbed her into a big hug. “Oh, don’t be like that. I knew things were bad. I didn’t know they were that bad. You should have said something.”

“I wanted to. I didn’t know how,” Maya wailed.

Thomas rubbed her back. “That’s a good girl. We’ll get this all settled. You heard the Baroness. Not in her territory.”

Maya nodded. She returned to her table sniffling and wiping her eyes. The other farmers came around and gave her supporting hugs and shoulder squeezes. “Scary thing.” “Could be any of us, really.” “We’re here for you.”

Lily continued to learn about the farms. In the Harvest District, the Goldspurs had a large grist mill. They were also grain farmers like Steve. _And_ they’d raided the Greendale forest for strawberry and blueberry plants, turning a couple fields of their farm into berry fields.

The Sunfield Farm was a dairy farm. They had a creamery. They kept chickens but only for themselves and a few local businesses. They grew grain and alfalfa to feed their cows and any extra they sent to the Goldspurs to make into flour.

The Jarlsson’s Farm was another produce farm.

Jasper in the Golden Hills may have called his farm a pumpkin farm, but he was another produce farmer. He grew mostly pumpkins and other squashes. His farm was really popular in the autumn months as he set up displays of carved and joined together pumpkins to be toured for a small fee and he had so many pumpkins that ranged from the size of his hand to bigger than your average toddler in height, it was great fun to look at them all. But an old man such as himself couldn’t live off the profits of pumpkins alone.

The Storm Garden display was as full of plans as the Silver Drake’s and Silverglade Winery display. They were another vineyard and they also had a maple orchard. Though, all of Western Epona was a big maple forest and they had permission to tap those trees as well. So, they made maple syrup and wine. Their wine cave was an actual cave that had an exit in the New Storm Garden’s house cellar.

This amused Lily and Ami. Both were making syrups and wine. It was silly. The other farm in the Epona area was the Rockwell Farm. They were quite a large farm as they were the primary tenant farmers for the Winterwell family. They did _everything_ from having sheep wandering about Sunset Islands, to growing produce and growing grains. They didn’t keep chickens or have cows however.

The Buttergoods grew cotton and flax.

Ginny pulled Lily aside and whispered to her that the Buttergoods were in league with G.E.D. That didn’t sound good at all. They had an inside man in the family, Robert Buttergood who was sabotaging the G.E.D. equipment. And the middle brother seemed like a good enough fellow, it was the eldest brother who was in charge that was the problem.

Pamela Moonriver had beehives and her honey was really quite delicious. She was looking to expand her operation if at all possible.

Lily put her into contact with Agnetha (who was wandering around looking at the displays herself.) And with the family who ran the Firgrove Apple Orchard, apple trees needed pollinating too! Mrs. Holdsworth wandered by and got into a conversation with Pamela about checking up on Mrs. Holdsworth hives. She was an old lady and wasn’t as spry as she used to be and bees made honey, lots of honey. (Hers was Dandelion honey or so she claimed.)

Birk’s Grange was a new farm, or well, an old farm under new management. Most the farming in Dundull was small family operations. Luciana though had encouraged the woman to come out and see what she could grow if she wanted to sell things like eggs and milk or extra produce out of her farm.

The South Hoof Farm was another family farm run by the Hightowers. They worked a rescue ranch for sick horses and so a lot of their produce went to feeding and taking care of their rescues. They didn’t always have a lot left over.

“Why not import some Highland cattle for the moors?” Lily asked.

“Highland Cattle?” Erik Hightower sounded dubious.

Lily showed him a picture on her phone. “They’re from Scotland. They’d do well on your land.”

He hemmed and hawed.

Lily took the idea to Kelsey.

“Oh it’s useless to ask him to do anything,” she rolled her eyes. “I know who to take that information to, it’s not like the younger two really know anything about farming or, care about it that much.”

Lily winced.

“I swear, the place runs on hopes, dreams, and Madison’s sugar high.”

Lily winced more.

Kelsey bit her lip. “I was also going to encourage sheep.”

“We might be over inundated with sheep.”

“Too true,” Kelsey nodded.

Deciding she’d seen everything, and that she was hungry, Lily jogged over to the restaurant tent to get some food. Out of loyalty to Antonia, she got a Gyro and some baklava. “Going well?” She asked after she swallowed.

“Amazingly. You wouldn’t believe all the corporate people Anastasia brought in who are raving about the countryside, the food, the hospitality. We’ve got an entire two busses of _brides._ It’s a madhouse.”

Lily grinned. “But that’s good for us.”

“You bet it is,” Antonia said as she rapidly sliced up the meat. “By this time next year, we’ll have weddings two to three times a week.”

Lily nodded and kept eating. She removed her gloves so the tzatziki sauce wouldn’t mess them up and she could lick her fingers. “You need anything, text me, and we’ll go get it for you.”

“Oh, Tracy came by half an hour ago, checked the stocks and ran off to the Manor before I could say boo.”

Lily grinned. “Good.”

“And that butler of the Baroness brought me more eggs without asking, Tracy helped him unload.” Antonia wiped her forehead with her sleeve. “You go be president of the club and make connections.”

“Ma’am, yes, ma’am,” Lily said as she finished her gyro, wiped her mouth and went to do just that. She was flagged down by Anastasia as soon as she got into the woman’s sight range and was introduced to Herman’s brother in the music business and soon all the names swam together.

She saw Conrad in the crafter tent. And a couple vendors from Silverglade she thought, a tailor and a baker. There was someone selling stuffed animals and riding vests at least. (nothing she would ever wear, far too many colors.) But Ingrid was talking to each of them and it sounded from what little Lily could hear (before Anastasia whisked her away) she was trying to set up a flea market in Firgrove.

That could be something.

It seemed to be a rousing success.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	19. Chapter 19

A large group of Rangers and men and women in construction gear descended upon the Manor as the girls were finishing up morning chores. (This list was growing longer and they were splitting into more teams to get it done promptly.) They had papers for the Baroness about the oil rigs. (Though they almost lost them and the girls had to run about grabbing them before they blew away. What was it about the winery that turned people into butter fingers? Linda mumbled about the wind was why she had her clipboard.)

It was time to take the oil rigs down. There were helicopters on the way to take them to the docks in Jorvik City to be returned to their rightful owners.

The girls cheered.

Linda offered the Baroness her clipboard and her pen. The Baroness smiled smugly as she signed the papers with a flourish. She returned the papers to the Head Ranger. “These young ladies will be more than happy to help you.”

The Ranger tugged on her hat, smiling. “I’m sure they will.”

First, they gathered all the horses out of the North Paddock and herded them to the stable, much to the rangers’ approval. No one wanted the horses to get scared of the helicopters and possibly get hurt.

Lily ceremoniously took down the temporary fence between the two sets of oil rigs and bowed to the construction crews. The girls scattered with towels in hand to grab up any last minute ducks in the oil spills. They waved at the rangers as they headed back with dirty ducks wrapped up safely in the towels to the stable to wash them.

The Ranger grinned knocking her hat back.

The construction crews handed them hats and set to work calling for equipment that the girls were able to hand them. They helped pull on levers to close off the access pipes. This involved specific size wrenches with huge handles and much leverage. They rolled the plastic pipes that were now no longer spitting out oil into a pile and “liberated” concrete from the race track in order to cap off the wells.

The construction crews swarmed over the rigs otherwise, taking them apart and putting them into the metal construction containers. Tyra handed out wire clippers and ratchets.

Some of the crews watched baffled as the girls went after the chain link fences with gusto, throwing them into a huge pile on the back of Bjorn’s truck to be hauled off for recycling. Bjorn followed them slowly in the truck.

Out of Bjorn’s truck, they pulled out shovels and weed clippers. Agnetha revved up her chainsaw. She used it to clear out the dead bushes as the girls shoveled out the contaminated dirt into wheelbarrows. They also dug out the dead bushes’ root systems. Then it was off to a special spot in the Everwind Fields that used to host Midsummer Festivals and was safe bare ground. There they piled up the dead bushes and the dirt. Agnetha set it alight to more cheers and fist bumps and high fives.

A thick column of black smoke coming off the dead bushes and dirt was better than fireworks.

They helped the construction crews shut the metal container doors and lock them securely with padlocks and chains. They all shook hands and there was more cheering and jumping up and down as the Helicopters hovered above them letting down high tension ropes with hooks to attach to the containers.

They all ran around to help while the construction crew foreman double checked everything giving each helicopter a big thumbs up. The containers lifted slowly into the air and the helicopters flew off slowly towards Jorvik City.

Bjorn called out from his talk that he’d be back that afternoon with new posts to fix the fence and dirt and turf for the field. He drove off slowly.

“Well, you ladies certainly made that go much faster,” the Construction Foreman said as he accepted hats back. “Thank you kindly.”

“No, thank you!” they said.

“Those things were ugly.”

“And hurting the Baroness’ land.”

“They had to go,” they all agreed.

The Ranger smiled. “It’s good to see that you take preserving Jorvik’s beauty seriously.”

Lily put the temporary fence back up, but no one was willing to bring the horses back until the new dirt and turf was in place. They escorted the crew and the rangers back to the Manor and let the Baroness thank them gravely.

One of the rangers commented about how lovely the Silver Fields looked with the wild carnations in them.

The Baroness gave the girls a long look.

They all tried to look innocent and probably failed.

Agnetha stepped in and took the blame. Though her eyes sparkled and Lily knew they might be hearing about it later. But, all she did was snap at them about didn’t they have weeding to do?

They scattered to go fill up the composter for the day. By the time they finished that and the other chores around the manor, Bjorn was back with dirt and turf and replacements for the broken fence. So, they tromped back out to the field and filled up the holes with new dirt and rolled out turf across the dead surfaces. Bjorn had even bought a couple new bushes to replace the dead ones.

They fixed the fence, digging new holes with a post holer to get past the freeze line. (This was very important, they didn’t want the fence post to be shoved upwards by the water freezing around it.)

The new fence looked really shiny compared to the old fence.

Bjorn wiped off his hands and shook his head. “Makes the old look downright homely and tired.”

They bit their lips and looked around. He was right.

“But, there’s no way to fix it without paint,” Lily pointed out. “The old wood is all weathered and the new wood doesn’t have that age.”

“Paint isn’t precisely ecofriendly,” Brittany said.

“There’s an approved paint,” Agnetha said. “I’ll order some.”

The girls looked at each other leery. But if Agnetha said it was okay.

“You better inspect the rest of the fence for places they’ve been chewing on it, loose nails, and splinters, or termites, carpenter ants,” she said. “Take pictures and we’ll get that fixed up before painting.”

The girls nodded.

“Well, what are you waiting for?”

They split up the huge North paddock into sections and went to examine the fence. Brittany wanted to know if they were painting the fence, if they couldn’t make it pretty.

Grace found carpenter ants. (They were too far north for termites, they hoped.)

They reported back to Agethna. There were a few loose nails obviously where the horses had been leaning against the fence. Some of the wood was splintered and it had definitely been chewed on.

Agnetha nodded. “Whelp, I don’t think the baroness is going to approve us replacing the whole thing with PVC covered wood.”

Brittany sighed. “But, can we make it pretty.”

Agnetha gave her a long look. She didn’t give a yes or no answer. Instead, she found them a hammer and told them to go knock the nails back into place for the time being.

They did and every time they passed where the oil rigs had been, there was this little leap of joy. They hammered the nails back into place and returned the hammer to Agnetha. Then they went and used the rest of the day to pamper the horses that usually were in the North Paddock by brushing them out and checking their hooves over.

Linda was going to have the vet and the farrier drop by the next day to make sure they were healthy while they were all stabled up.

This sounded good to the girls, so they went to bed satisfied.

* * *

Agnetha informed them the next morning while they were weeding that Bjorn was off at Jorvik City picking up the necessary supplies to fix the fence. Antonia texted Lily for help.

The glassware for the restaurant was in Silverglade and she needed them to pick it up and then set the tables.

They rode down to Silverglade, paid their dues to Derek in terms of flirting and rode carefully back with the boxes to the Manor. Antonia helped them open them using the pry end of a hammer and a crowbar.

They all gasped at the pretty dishes, glasses, and vases. Of course, before they were set out, they had to be washed. They didn’t have to roll up their sleeves due to their t-shirts, but they set to washing, rinsing and drying the dishes with a will. They set the tables, folding the linens just so and lining up the silver, setting out the purple glassware for color and then stacked the rest of the dishes in the kitchen to be ready to serve off of when the place officially opened.

But, the place needed finishing touches.

The decorator arrived with mirror squares to put on the walls across from the windows to reflect the light. And then, it was out to the gardens where under Agnetha’s shrewd eye they picked white hybrid tea roses (and only white hybrid tea roses) for the restaurant vases. They trimmed stems and filled the vases.

The roses would have to be replaced of course, every so often, but that was no matter.

They took photos for the website and Jorvikgram, forwarding them to Linda. Antonia told them she’d need their help later to set up for the first day and to get some servers for hire. People Linda’s age. (They were too young to be working as servers themselves really.) They left Linda and Antonia talking about setting up a job ad on JarlList.

Bjorn was back with the supplies to fix up the fence. First, they pried out the old fence boards that were chewed, or splintered, and replaced them with new boards and using new nails. They had to change a couple of the posts too. Bjorn showed them how to treat all around the posts for the ants (and his spray would also get the termites.)

Then he got out the paint. “All right, Agnetha said you wanted it to be _pretty._ ” He knocked his hat off to the side in order to scratch his head. “Don’t know if I rightly understand, but see, I got you these stencils and err, these colored paints and big pallets. If any of you is any types of artistic, I guess, you can paint some flowers on the boards.”

“Thank you, Bjorn!” They squealed and he found himself being _hugged._

“Oh, look, this one is a greek intaglio key stencil!” Brittany held it up.

“And here is one that looks like leaves,” Grace waved it.

“I know how to paint traditional Swedish flowers, I can make them roses!” Linn said. “Like the flowers on Dala horses.”

“Oh, those are so pretty!”

“But if I give them more petals, they’ll be roses,” Linn grinned.

They passed her the paints and the palettes.

The spray paint turned out to be white.

“All right, time to _paint,_ ” Regina pumped a fist.

Grace, Brittany, and Linn put their heads together over what the flowers should look like and settled on that they’d do the key on the posts and the vines and flowers on the planks. That seemed like a reasonable compromise. Especially when Grace found a good stencil to finish her Greek Key on. (Making the top a square that Linn could paint more roses above inside of a circle.)

So, they split into teams again. One team spray painted the fence white. It was a big fence. They were going to go through a _lot_ of spray paint. The next team used the stencils and laid down the key pattern and the leaf pattern, both in the nice lavender color. Then Linn swooped in and painted the roses in lilac and heather with bits of orchid for contrast.

When they finished, they all declared that it was indeed _quite pretty._

Hopefully the baroness would like it. Or else, they might be out here spray painting it all over.

Agnetha was muttering to herself when they returned about flowers that were safe for horses to browse upon. This was going to be more important in the flower beds around the race tracks than it was in the flower gardens around the manor. Roses were apparently quite safe for horses to eat.

Agnetha just wanted to keep them out of the way of curious horse nibbles so they didn’t have to keep replacing them!

Apparently, she was thinking that they could plant some flowers around the outside of the fence for color. Though, once again, they’d have to be safe for horses to eat. She was still deciding and it was quite late so they went to dinner instead. Antonia was feeding them big batches of her menu in preparation for opening.

Plus, she just liked feeding people. She said they earned it because they worked so hard.

So, they were all together when Lily got a text from Anastasia inviting them to Jorvik City the next day.

“I wonder what she could want?”

“I have no idea,” Lily said.

“You can never tell with her,” Linda shrugged and dug into her spanakopita.

Speculating among themselves, they got ready for bed and fell asleep quickly. Painting, even spray paint, was hard work!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	20. Chapter 20

When Agnetha heard they were going to Jorvik City (they told her as they rushed through chores. They wouldn’t have time for weeding and were dropping of chipmunks on the way to Fort Pinta’s bus station) she insisted that they were going to bring back some flowers for the main gardens. She had them on order and they could get whatever was there. It was past time they started on the first terrace rose garden. That apparently was simply an extension of the front yard rose gardens.

“Yes, Agnetha!” They said in unison as they mounted their horses and trotted off towards Fort Pinta in their Silverglade Clan Riding outfits.

Anastasia met them at the mall and counted noses. “And that’s thirteen, excellent. Lily, be a dear, and recruit us 7 more girls from around the mall.”

Lily blinked. “Seven?”

“Seven,” Anastasia confirmed. “Off with you.” She herded the other girls up the escalator to the second floor show room where they held fashion shows every spring and fall.

Confused, Lily ran around the mall and found 7 other girls who would be delighted to help out Anastasia Silverglade because that meant being on Jorvikgram and other social media.

They were let in by the fashion police. Commander Lacroix nodded at Lily.

What were _they_ doing here?

In the back, the stylist from The Shield Maiden was staring at Linn, Tyra, and Pauline. “All right girls, I understand it’s easy, but this has got to end. Sit.” She gestured at the stools in front of the mirrors.

The three girls sat.

“I swear, you’d be triplets except one of you is blonde.”

Tyra and Linn had the grace to flush.

The stylist pulled out their pigtails to see how much hair she had to work with. She decided to leave Linn’s hair color alone and decided that Tyra’s hair was all wrong for her skin color.

Tyra shut her eyes and squeezed them shut as the stylist put up her hair into the aluminum foil wrappers, pasting it with dye before shutting them. As Tyra’s hair set, the stylist washed her hands and went around to every girl doing their hair into various styles that were elegant and some were downright vintage.

Her assistant was running around doing makeup in everything from classic fifties, to modern in purple, to goth evening raspberry.

Franceszka Ironsaddle was running around assigning each of the girls outfits based on their hairstyle and checking for dangling strings, missing buttons, or dropped hems. (She did ask the girls to help her.) There was shoes, jewelry, gloves and everything they would need to have a complete look, all in the shades of winery purple with white and black.

When the dye was done in Tyra’s hair, it was a _vibrant_ orange red and wavy. Tyra flushed and admitted she used product to tame the waves. The stylist gave her a stern look. “No more.”

Everyone reassured her that she looked fabulous.

Francezka clapped her hands as they were getting finishing touches (a touch of blush or bronzer here, a bit of powder there, checking shoe laces and snaps.) “Ladies. Ladies. You are snowflakes. Take deep breath, pull your shoulders back and exhale leaving shoulders alone. No droopy puddles!”

She arranged them in the order she wanted them to go.

The music started. Lights turned on.

The first girl went.

Lily was a bundle of nerves by the time her time came. It was really hard to see with all the flashing lights, but she didn’t think that the event was very full. In fact, she thought there might be only a handful of people.

She turned at the end and walked back.

Francezka had them all walk out and stand on the catwalk once they were finished.

The lights went down.

The Silverglades were the only audience; Anastasia, her mother, Aaron, and the family butler, Godfrey. Antonia and Agnetha sat there too.

Anastasia turned to her mother. “Well, mother, what do you think?” She asked, voice very tight.

Lily wanted to gape. Was Anastasia actually _nervous?_

Annabella Silverglade got up and went around the back of the catwalk to use the stairs as if she owned the place. (Maybe she did.) The Fashion Police opened doors for her and helped her up. She walked down the catwalk examining the outfits in detail. Her face a mask of suppressed emotions.

There seemed to be an outfit for every occasion, different riding events, gardening, more elegant clothes for well, Lily wasn’t sure what, casual clothes for taking care of the stables, dresses and skirts for parties. The theme of course was the Silverglade Clan and their emblem and roses.

Annabella got to the end. “You designed these Francezka?”

“Yes, Baroness,” Francezka sounded like she was about to faint. (Francezka was one of the Baroness’ biggest fans even if she preferred black and the Baroness preferred white.) “I was very flattered that Anastasia asked me over Madame Asp.”

Anastasia waved a hand. “Our families have been friends for decades. I knew you would understand the gravitas and elegance required to outfit those who live and work at the Silverglade Manor.”

(What Anastasia _wasn_ _’t_ saying was that she was farming out outfits to every designer on Jorvik for the different clubs. Madame Asp was currently far too busy designing clothes for the Jorvik Stables Singing Swans to be able to commit to the Silver Drakes. She had the designers of Jollister working on things for the Firgrove Timber Wolves and Valedale Running Bulls. One thing Anastasia could do _was delegate._ )

The Baroness went down the line for another sweep. The girls looked ahead and kept their eyes focused on the far wall. Even those they recruited knew not to mess with Baroness Annabella!

Annabella stopped in front of Francezka. “I’m impressed,” she said simply. “Make sure that my girls are all outfitted properly with every outfit here.” She waved a hand. “And I believe there is a building you may stock to make a shop for tourists who desire a taste of Silverglade elegance.”

Anastasia looked like she was about to faint with relief.

It was beneath Francezka’s image to look giddy, but she definitely felt giddy. “Thank you, Baroness. I’ll see that it’s done,” she breathed.

“I believe I’ve seen enough,” the Baroness said and disappeared backstage. “Anastasia, we should adjourn for the lunch you promised me.”

“Of course, mother,” Anastasia said.

The Baroness smiled at her.

They left not talking to each other but for once Anastasia radiated real happiness.

“Wow,” Lily said.

“Selfies!” Theresa shouted.

They gathered around and took pictures together and with the Fashion Police giving obvious signs of approval. They took pictures with Francezka and the Shield Maiden stylist. They giggled a lot as they sent them to Linda to put up on JorvikGram. Linda texted that she was going to spread them out as sneak peeks, and they all looked incredibly stylish.

They changed back into their regular clothes and stopped by Iris before leaving.

The other passengers gave them odd looks with all the roses that they were cradling in their laps and by their feet on the way back to Fort Pinta. But no one expressly _said_ anything, especially after they opened the windows.

“The gardener is a slave driver,” Elsa said in a dry tone to the bus driver.

He grinned.

They collected their horses and returned to the Manor chattering to each other about being part of a _fashion_ show and Tyra’s _new hair_ and whether or not the make-up and hair was going to show up at _Style_ in Silverglade Village.

Of course, Agnetha made them _plant_ the roses before they were done for the day. And they showed her a picture of the outfit they thought she’d look the best in and would be suitable for garden work. Somehow she’d returned the manor before they did. The perils of public transportation. (She had more roses for them to plant, so she must have taken the truck and formed a convoy with Antonia’s scooter and Godfrey in the family car.)

Agnetha grunted over it but didn’t seem displeased. (She agreed and was still flummoxed on how Anastasia had convinced her to attend a fashion show away from her beloved gardens.)

Now all they had to do was wait for the boxes with the clothes to arrive!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	21. Chapter 21

The email Lily received from Aaron Silverglade was next to incoherent. Oh, there were legible words, but they didn’t string together to make any sense. He sounded quite upset, as much as written words could sound upset.

Lily hopped a bus to Jorvik City and met him at Leonardo’s.

“Sir Aaron, whatever is the matter,” she asked as soon as she was certain that he had a fortifying sundae and stiff coffee in front of him. They sat under one of the umbrella tables outside of Leonardo’s.

“I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m going to fail miserably and make my mother more disappointed in me. I don’t know why I ever thought this was a good idea. Anastasia is doing so much better at this than I am and I can feel mother’s icy disapproval from here. Why can’t I be more like mother?”

Lily’s eyes widened. “Slow down! Your mother loves you. You just helped her achieve a huge victory against G.E.D. by getting rid of those oil rigs. Not that you need to do things like that for her to love you. She loves you no matter what. Now, exactly what is the problem?”

“I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“What, what?” Lily waved her spoon. “The oil rigs are gone. We’re revitalizing the paddock. The race track can now move forward.”

“With the ice cream bar,” Aaron waved his hands and then slumped.

Lily blinked rapidly. “You know everything about ice cream.”

“But, what to call it? How to decorate it? I don’t know anything about that!”

Lily reached out and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “You don’t have to.”

“But, but,” Aaron sputtered.

“That is what professionals are for. There are professional decorators. And professional marketers.” Lily sniffed. “Really, Dame Anastasia copped out by naming the restaurant the Silver Glade. That’s an easy go to stand by.”

Aaron bit his lip hard. He dug into his ice cream and took a few bites.

“Now,” Lily took out her phone and did a search for the decorator. She found the phone number and slid her phone over to Aaron. “Here is the decorator your sister hired for the restaurant.”

Aaron stared at it.

“Call him,” Lily urged.

Aaron reached for his phone and slowly dialed the number. He explained who he was and what he was trying to do. He took the phone away from his ear and looked at it with a frown on his face, brow furrowed. “He’s on his way. Since, we’re having ice cream.”

“We must have been photographed on social media.”

“Oh dear. I hope they aren’t saying anything salacious.”

Lily did a quick search. “Not really? They don’t know who I am _and_ I’m wearing Silverglade Clan colors.”

“Hmm,” Aaron said.

“Random employee pep talk,” Lily shrugged and put it away.

“We should be more careful,” Aaron mumbled.

“That could make things worse,” Lily told him. She ate her ice cream. “I confess I don’t know a lot about wine or ice cream. Other than it is tasty and I like eating it.”

Aaron fidgeted. “Well, the winery is a very lucrative business and it could be more so. You see, the price of wine really depends on its scarcity. A good bottle of wine can sell for at least 500 Jorvik shillings.”

Lily got out her phone and did a currency conversion. “So, 20 American dollars?” It appeared that 1 dollar equaled 25 Jorvik Shillings. And 100 Jorvik shillings equaled 1 star coin. (Lily made a note to never use star coins on the transport.) So, 100 Jorvik shillings was roughly 4 American dollars in market value.

“I suppose,” Aaron blinked. He stirred his ice cream. “Of course, the price of an individual bottle goes down as you order more volume. But depending on the amount of wine made and sold in a year, a winery as big as mothers can make 50 billion shillings a year.”

Lily did the conversion on her phone. “2 billion dollars a year?”

“Not every year and, between you and I, we aren’t currently making nearly that much as we don’t have the proper marketing or demand.” Aaron flushed. “I probably shouldn’t be telling you this.”

“Probably not,” Lily said. “But that is really interesting!”

“Wine output is determined by how many hectares of grapes you have planted. And of course, everything depends on soil salinity and the weather. We have cooler weather here in Jorvik. That all effects the taste of the wine. And if your wine doesn’t _taste_ good and pass certain standards, you can’t price it _higher._ We aren’t as fussy as France,” Aaron sniffed. “But we still have _standards._ ”

Lily grinned around a spoonful of ice cream.

The decorator literally flounced up to the table. “I hope you haven’t started talking about anything juicy without me!” He struck a pose.

“Just about wine profits,” Lily said.

“Well, say no more until I have ice cream,” the decorator sat and ordered from one of the servers. She returned quickly with his bowl of ice cream and left them.

“All right, darlings, explain _everything_ about this wine and _ice cream_ bar?”

Lily raised a brow at Aaron.

He floundered.

Lily decided it was probably better if she took over. “The wine cave has a room that is meant to be a tasting room,” she said. “I haven’t been in it.” Her brow furrowed and she picked up the phone and sent a text. She set the phone down. “Sir Silverglade knows a lot about _ice cream_ and the concept is to pair ice cream dishes with wine to attract tourists with something a little different? Sir Silverglade was telling me about how our cooler weather makes the wine taste different than if we had warmer weather.”

The decorator tilted his head. “Is it even _possible_ to pair wine and ice cream without it ending badly?”

“Small cups! Small!” Lily widened her eyes.

The decorator grinned. “The whole point of a wine tour is to get gloriously drunk and buy lots of wine you don’t need.”

Lily sighed.

Her phone buzzed. She picked it up, checked the messages and passed it to the decorator. “The tasting room.”

“Another very empty box,” the decorator sniffed. “How distressing.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “If you remember, the outside of the wine cave looks like the Parthenon or another long rectangular greek temple.”

“It’s based on the Valley of the Temples in Sicily,” Aaron said stiffly.

Lily gestured. See?

“Romantic get away for a Silverglade ancestor, I’m assuming. Sounds like a story,” the decorator smirked.

Aaron mumbled something and fiddled with his shirt sleeves.

“Continue please, a big empty room is a blank canvas, I want to hear more about your ideas.” The decorator passed the phone back to Lily.

Aaron cleared his throat. “Outside of France, many wineries maximize their profits by having different types of grapes and they grow these grapes in different areas of their property called cotes that has the best weather suited for them and we have to be very particular about soil salinity. Our Pinot Noir grapes are in the area of the winery that has the _best_ weather due to their rather finicky and delicate nature. All of the vines at the Silverglade winery are different types of red grapes, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Melbec, Merlot, Zinfandel, and Syrah.”

“Is there a reason for that?” The decorator asked. “I know that Riesling is a very popular wine to have with local foods. That is if anyone ever recommends a wine at all. But Riesling is a German white grape.”

Aaron shrugged. “I don’t know. Those are the varietals we have. We also have a Rose blended wine and a Red blend fortified wine in the style of Port for sale. We use the skin contact method to make the wine pink and take the skins out before the wine becomes deep red. It’s _traditional._ ”

Lily bit the inside of her cheek. The Silverglades could be so stuffy.

“But the good thing about red wine is that it pairs well with our local fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, and lingonberries. You can even pair it with apples and cheese,” Aaron brightened. “For white wine, you pair it with things like peaches, orange, and melons. We don’t _have_ those around Silverglade so, it’s all fortuitous you see.”

“Or Fruituitous,” Lily wrinkled her nose.

Aaron grimaced at the pun.

The decorator laughed. “I like you, darling,” he waved a spoon at her.

“So my ideas for ice cream feature the local produce and of course we want to use local cream products and import chocolate, everyone loves chocolate.” Aaron fiddled with his utensils. “I have a list of items. I just can’t narrow it down.”

“Why bother narrowing it down?” Lily furrowed her brow. “I think it is more important that they taste good and pair well with the wines at the winery.”

“Yes, you must have a taste test,” the decorator nodded emphatically.

“I think they go well.”

“We trust your judgement,” Lily said quickly. “Having a tasting will provide publicity for the ice cream bar and let you gauge feedback on what the people will like.”

The decorator nodded. “She’s right. Publicity is, well, queen, in this case.”

“I mean, as long as you aren’t doing anything to outre like rose or violet or lavender ice cream,” Lily said.

“We could,” Aaron murmured. “Rose and cardamom go together and you know how much mother loves cardamom. And cardamom and lingonberries go well with red wine. In some recipes you can substitute rose water for red wine.”

Lily felt the need to point out. “You denude Agnetha’s rose bushes she’ll come after you with her chainsaw no matter if you’re the son of the Baroness or not.”

The decorator burst into laughter.

Aaron pursed his lips. “Agnetha is scary. They’re old friends you know, her and my mother. Went to university together.”

“Oh good grief,” Lily groaned. “That explains so much.”

“And Lavender goes with rose wine,” Aaron added.

Lily sighed. “Yes, but they also scream snobby.”

The decorator snorted.

“Wine making is _snobby,_ ” Aaron retorted.

“Okay, make them a special at some point.” Lily waved her hand.

Aaron tried to retain what very little dignity he had. “Most of my ideas are things that people will like, vanilla and berries, chocolate and nuts, strawberry cheesecake, sea salt caramel, that sort of thing.”

“Those all sound delicious,” Lily said.

“And something with cardamom for my mother,” Aaron continued stiffly. He slumped again. “I don’t know what to call it or what I want things to look like.”

“This tasting room at least isn’t in a drafty old cellar, even if the walls look like it,” the decorator sniffed.

“Aren’t wine cellars rooms nobles actually have?” Lily tilted her head. “I mean, does the manor have one.”

“Yes, the manor has a wine cellar,” Aaron nodded. “Mother keeps all the special bottles there.”

“Then, why not call it the Wine Cellar and keep it simple, like the restaurant was simple. I mean, no one is going to care that it’s not really in a cellar. Or they shouldn’t.”

“Since the cellar of the wine cave is filled with kegs and kegs of aging wine,” Aaron murmured.

“If we call it the Wine Cellar people are going to expect grapes as décor,” the decorator sniffed.

“I don’t see why we can’t do a bit of that.”

“And too keep the walls rough.”

“Also doable,” Lily said. She raised a finger. “Wait, why not face them with marble slabs. That way they can look “rough” and be fancy at the same time.”

“We don’t want it to have the same exact look at the Silver Glade, but the two should say they belong in the same place, did you just say marble slabs,” the decorator raised a brow.

Lily shrugged. “It’s an idea.”

“It’s going to be cold.”

“It’s _summer,_ ” Lily reminded him.

Aaron ducked his head and smiled.

“Let me see what other ice cream parlors are doing,” the decorator picked up his phone. “You never know what you can use for _ideas._ ”

He scrolled. “All right, modern and elegant but with old world flair. I’m seeing two that have ideas that could work. This ice cream parlor in Prague that turns into a bar during the evening, and this other one in Palma, Spain. I’m thinking more the floor and the fact they have the greenery on the ceiling.” He turned the phone around so Aaron could look at the pictures.

“I like the lamps in Prague, they remind me of the lamps Agnetha is putting in,” Aaron said.

Lily craned her head forward trying to see.

Aaron turned the phone around.

“Oh, the one in Prague is very clean. Both have the exposed lighting. But the walls in Prague remind me more of the walls in the restaurant, like they’re clean despite not having the French Paneling.”

“An ice cream parlor and wine bar doesn’t really need French Paneling.” The decorator sniffed. “And the humidity would ruin it.”

“Could we make chairs out of old barrels?” Lily asked.

“Why do you even need me?” The Decorator asked.

“Because you can tell us if our ideas are good or bad,” Lily smirked at him.

The decorator sighed. “That is the sort of old world kitsch that it probably does need. We can use the same type of lamps or similar as to the restaurant and the rest of the winery.”

“We have hanging flower baskets already and urns of flowers,” Lily pointed out.

The decorator looked at the pictures again. “I know this building looks two and a half stories high with the pitch of the roof. All the lighting will have to be brought in it looks like. Let’s give the walls a good polishing. I know a contractor. We’ll install a marble floor with several coats of protection. Everything will have to be hand built. Maybe we can use barrel staves on the front of the bar.”

“We may not be able to use ivy or roses, aren’t those sunny plants. Agnetha talks and talks,” Lily bit her lip. She set her spoon down, ice cream done. “I can’t remember all of it.”

“I was thinking that we could take a nod from Prague and do the logo in lights, whatever it ends up being.”

“We’ll get a marketing team on it,” Aaron said. “I know Anastasia has one for the restaurant. I’ll tack my requests onto hers.”

“Excellent plan,” the decorator smirked. “I’ll get some drawings for these barrel chairs and use the same roman style idea we’ve been using and that should take care of the ‘wine cellar’ vibe we’re going for.”

Lily nodded rapidly.

Aaron looked faint with relief. He sipped his coffee.

“And use Agnetha’s artist for lights,” the decorator sighed. “She has to be charging through the nose to get it done as quickly as she is.”

“Would you say no to Agnetha or Baroness Silverglade?” Lily said.

Aaron smiled again behind his mug.

“No, not at all,” the decorator admitted. “Hmm, doesn’t she have that _arch_ thing near the Riding Arena.”

“Yep,” Lily said. She produced a picture.

“Yes, exactly, we’ll create something to set off the bar area from the lounging area with that type of theme, though you know, one story instead of whatever _that_ is,” he rolled his eyes. “I know, because I’ve been to France, that the top of that arch has square tile motifs. We can use grapes there, probably in a circle with roses in the corners. Then horses on each side of the arch on the walls.”

Lily nodded rapidly.

“That way we won’t have to change the base of the lamps that she already has a mold for and we won’t get bitched at.”

Lily giggled.

“And we can wrap them in something that likes to climb and is shade loving to help bring in more greenery. There, I think I have a plan. Hanging globe lights from the ceiling with more hanging plants. Put shade loving plants in the urns.” The decorator clapped their hands together. They finished their ice cream. “I’ll go get on making a picture for you to approve.” He stood up. “Excellent meeting you again, Ms. Lily. I’ll be in touch, Sir Silverglade.” He smiled and sauntered off shoes clicking on the tiles.

Lily stared at Aaron.

Aaron sipped his coffee. “He seems very good at his job.”

Lily bit her lip.

“Thank you, for, for all this, you do know just what to say.”

“Sir Aaron, we want this to succeed just as much as you do and, well, _ice cream._ ” Lily widened her eyes. “Now, don’t forget to put up a JarlList to get some employees.”

“Of course, and I am going to call Anastasia and tell her I liked that outfit Franzeska came up with that had the blouse with the contrasting collar and cuffs. It was very professional looking.”

“Yeah, I’ll leave you to it,” Lily breathed. She got up. She wanted no part of the fight over what place was going to have what outfit. She retreated across the street and grabbed the trolley as it headed by to take her to the bus station.

At least, the crisis seemed to be averted.

Lily debated on the way back to Fort Pinta if she should pop her head in and tell Baroness Silverglade to remind her children she loved them a bit more often.

Lily shuddered.

No, probably not a good idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	22. Chapter 22

There wasn’t much for them to do other than keep up with the chores and help Agnetha clean up the gardens. There were two water elements in the Moon Garden and Agnetha was debating about taking one out. Because given she wanted to make the main Moon Reflecting Pool a waterfall down the side of the terrace, how many water elements did one place need?

None of them knew what to say to that.

Think of the water bill, Agnetha ranted. It seemed a bit late for that given the extensive gardens, vineyard, and the huge reflecting pool and fountain already installed.

So, they didn’t think much of it when Agnetha had them gather at the base of the unused riding paddock.

“Now, today we’re going to start on the tunnel,” Agnetha said leaning on a shovel.

They all looked at each other.

Regina held up her hand.

“Yes, Regina?”

“Um, what tunnel?”

“The one we’re going to make,” Agnetha said patiently.

Brittany pointed. “That is a wall of solid rock.”

“So it is,” Agethna nodded. “That’s why we’re going to blast it out.”

“Blast it out?” Stacy squeaked. “But, but we’re just teenagers.”

“You shouldn’t be giving us dynamite!” Tyra agreed.

All the girls nodded and crossed their arms or fidgeted according to their natures.

Agnetha _laughed._ “Now, now, I won’t be doing anything silly as all that. Bjorn is going to handle all the blasting. What we need you to do is gather up the wires and help shovel out the debris.”

They groaned.

“Because we’re going to use it to help make concrete for the racetrack.”

“But, won’t blasting out a tunnel be rather crude?” Pauline scratched the back of her neck. “No offense, Ms. Agnetha.”

“None taken. Now, we’re going to hire some fancy artisans to come in and grind everything down nicely and make it look all fancy. Install lights and all that. But before they can come and do anything, we need to actually have a tunnel.”

“Right,” they breathed.

“So, first things first,” Agnetha started.

“Off to the post office,” the girls chorused.

Agnetha tried to frown. “Well, you do know what to do,” she said and waved her hands at them. “Then, off with you. What are you waiting on me for?”

They jogged off to get their horses gossiping about the latest plans.

“Is it me or is she a bit barmy?”

“I hoped the Baroness actually approved this.”

“It was on the plans. She had to have noticed.”

They tacked up the horses and rode out to Silverglade. Derek was swamped. So, they decided to get lunch first.

Surprisingly, Pia and the Fort Pinta Pinto Ponies were in Silverglade too.

“Lunch?” Lily shouted.

Pia waved at the council building. “Meet you there!”

They got their horses situated at Steve’s and invited the Chipmunks to join them.

The three clubs sat at the smaller tables and spread out the food they’d bought in front of them. It didn’t take long for Pia to get started.

“I am going to throttle James,” she said flatly.

“What did he do?” Lily’s eyes widened.

“What didn’t he do?” One of the girls said. “Sorry, I’m Penny, Polly’s sister.”

“Lily, nice to meet you Penny.” Lily wiped off her hand and held it out.

The two shook.

“So, the first we heard about it was that one of our girls rides in with one of the Moorland Campers, who swore up and down that she’d been to Fort Pinta before because she’d been to camp multiple times, but despite the fact there is only _one_ road and the Fort is very large and very _yellow,_ she got lost on the way. My girl gets her up on the back of their horse and off they go to the Fort. Well, the Security Guards stops them and starts going on about _fines._ _”_ Pia waved her hands about before taking a bite of the sub she had in one hand.

Penny groaned. “He is such a snot nose brat and if he was younger, you’d feel sympathetic, but no. He’s fifteen and he should know _better._ _”_ He being James, of course.

“This poor girl hearing the words fines and set by the Mayor was all set to give up her savings to James. The savings she was keeping to buy a horse. Well, I had a very bad feeling about this because James has been not so helpful or honest with us as we’ve been setting up the club.”

“Lordy, has he not been honest.”

“So, he tries to send us on a merry goose chase of ‘I can reduce your fines if you do this free labor for me’ thing that he likes to do.” Pia rubbed her forehead. “The same put up these posters, take pictures, find these buoys that we had to beat him over the head almost to get him to pay us to do for him.”

Penny butted in. “Except this time it’s off to Ferdinand. Only to find out that Ferdinand is paying _James_ to _exercise_ his horses. Only James is turning around and _renting_ them out to tourists.”

“Oh that’s a cozy little scheme,” Lily said flatly.

“Ferdinand felt sorry for him or something. I took it Eddie. Eddie ripped him a new one.” Polly said and ate her sandwich in big bites.

“Good on Eddie,” Kate muttered.

“So, we get back with the whole nonsense about the horses and _here comes the Mayor,_ ” Pia huffed. “And it’s a _pony_ wearing a _hat_ with a _walkie talkie_ inside of it. James didn’t even bother to _disguise his voice._ And everyone is raving about how adorable the Fort Pina Mayor, _Peanut the Pony._ ”

“Who is a Pinto so we may be adopting him as our mascot,” Penny said.

“IS!” Pia almost shouted. “So, I had to ream James out about that. And James is going on about how much the town adores Peanut and the tourists love him and how he can’t end the charade _now._ ”

“So, that makes him de facto Mayor of town,” Lily said flatly.

“Oh, I nipped that at the bud. I informed the actual _adults_ and so instead of a trick run by a fifteen year old actually making policy, Peanut has been adopted by that girl whose joined our club and is the Mayor in name only. Get pictures. Pose. Whatever, but that pony and James aren’t in charge of anything important.” Pia snorted.

“You’d think that would have taught him not to cross with us,” Penny said in a low voice.

“Oh no,” Polly said.

“Granted, we had our orders in through him before we formed the Club,” Penny sighed. “And it was too late to change them.”

“So, we’re setting this pony race up outside of Fort Pinta past Doyle’s Abbey around Thorn Rocks.” Polly gestured with a potato chip. “And we ordered the fences and jumps and things through James.”

“Mistake.”

“We get them, set them up,” Pia said.

“And they’re broken.” Polly hissed.

Lily shook her head.

“We pinned his toes to the floor about that. He replaced them for free.”

“Then,” Pia rubbed her forehead. “He comes to me. He has this stuffed animal dragon named Token that he thinks would be a great something or other for Jorvik. He wants me to take it around South New Jorvik County and take pictures of this little dragon toy. Then he’s going to publish them in a book.”

Lily’s lips parted.

Pauline snorted. “Wait, he wants _you_ to take this toy around and _he_ _’s_ going to publish the book.”

“He’s got an agent and publisher on the line,” Pia said flatly. “I asked him what credit, upfront money, and part of the royalties was I getting. I’m not an idiot. He started blustering about how he’d give me a photo credit. I asked if he was writing a story for these pictures. He said _no._ And I _lost_ it. I screamed at him that I knew how publishing worked! If I’m the one doing all the damn work, then I’m the one getting my name on the cover and all the royalties because he wouldn’t be doing jack shit.”

“I would have lost it too,” Pauline said.

“So, while this is going on, come to find out that he’s been filling orders for Franz and Courtney too for their new restaurant. They gave him money in good faith and he was going to send them old stable buckets and I don’t remember what else.” Pia turned red. “I pinned his ears back and put in a phone call to Alex. Well, Alex said calling their mother wouldn’t do any good. Apparently, she’s in the middle of a major depressive episode.”

“Did Alex come?” Lily asked in a low voice.

“She did, but she was so fucking dismissive and a bitch about it. I don’t think it did any good. He just passed it off as Alex being Alex.” Pia scowled. “So, now, we have to figure out some way to get through his damn head that if he wants to succeed he’s going to have to be _honest_ and he’s going to have to have _fair rates,_ do the shit he said he was going to do, aka have integrity, and if he wants to put his name on something, he has to put in the work.”

“It’s not going over well.”

“No. And I’m telling him he’s gaining quite a bad reputation and if he keeps it up, he’s going to lose controlling interest of the stable, because I will snap it out from under him so fast,” Pia snapped her fingers.

“How do you know about publishing?” Pauline asked.

Pia flushed. “My parents are in it. My mum is a travel writer.”

“I mean, is the stuffed dragon pictures thing a good idea?” Lily asked.

“I guess if we do it _now._ It’s a huge trend. Take your stuffed animal with you on vacation and take pictures of the stuffed animal as if _it_ is the one on vacation.” Pia sighed. “But that’s just it, it’s a fad. And sure, it’d be great to have for say, a Jorvik Information Center souvenir, and maybe as post cards. But if he wants his name on it more than dragon stuffed animal owned by James, then he has to do the photography, and the travel.”

“We get that Token is important to him and he wants to share the baby dragon with the rest of Jorvik and the tourists,” Penny said.

“But we aren’t willing to do the work for a byline and a few shillings,” Pia rolled her eyes.

“Nor should you,” Lily said firmly.

“Like, you can tell he wants to have something of his own,” Penny rubbed her forehead.

“He’s going about it the wrong way.” Polly nodded. “We want this pony race.”

“And this pony club,” Pia said.

“So, we’re putting in the work to make it possible.”

“You know,” Lily said. “This is a great idea. And the trend might stick around. But is now really the time for South New Jorvik County? I mean, look around. A lot of it is in disrepair or overgrown. Maybe now is the time to scout locations and for him and the agent to come up with a good story for Token. Why is Token taking a vacation in Jorvik? What is Token doing here? Then once everything has been cleaned up and restored, we shepherd him back around again to do the photos. That way, he has to work on it. We can keep an eye on him. And I don’t know, maybe he learns something.”

The door opened. Ingrid, Violet and the rest of the Timber Wolves tromped in. They saw the others and brightened.

Ingrid and Violet came over to the table with the leaders. “Room for us?”

“We can make room. What brings you to Silverglade?”

“Lost packages along the Firgrove road.” Ingrid said with a smile. “We found the owners, ja.”

Violet looked back and forth. “What were you discussing?”

“James,” they all said with a groan.

“He has this idea about his stuffed animal and vacation pictures,” Pia waved another chip.

“But he doesn’t want to do any of the work,” Pauline added with a roll of her eyes.

“Typical James,” they chorused.

Ingrid and Violet made faces.

“Sounds like Andy. He wants to do geocaching here in Jorvik. But only wants to set up one round of clues. That’s not how geocaching works!” Violet sighed.

“Kids these days,” Lily said.

They all burst into giggles.

They dug into their food, all thinking.

“It’s not a bad idea,” Pauline said.

“We were all about to say that,” Pia giggled.

“Look, the campers and the tourists need things to do!” Pauline said. “And, okay, if we have a bunch of different geocaching locations in the county. Err, I’m assuming that this is you follow the clues to little boxes and put a stamp in a book thing and Andy will have rewards once you have so many stamps?”

“Sure, let’s go with that,” Violet said.

“I don’t think he thought that far ahead,” Ingrid winced.

“Okay,” Lily stirred her lemonade with her straw. “How can we work this for tourists and make it fun for campers?”

“Hmm,” Polly said. “You know, people might want to emulate the Token pictures. Bring their own stuffed animals and put them around Jorvik where Token was and take pictures of them.”

“Oh, oh, there could be _prizes_ for the most places found!” Pia said and bounced in her seat.

“How about horse plushies?” Penny said. “We can put in an Information Center and gift shop at Fort Pinta. Do the different horse plushies, I mean, we’ve got thirteen breeds, so many coat colors and the Jorvik Warmblood Sports do their special magic coats.”

“They what?” Lily squeaked.

“Oh, um, no one told you about that?” Polly flushed. “Once you get Jorvik Warmblood Sports and Jorvik Starter Ponies far enough out into the wild, their coats change as the magic of Pandoria allows them to show their true natures.”

“Wait, wait, the magic of Pandoria?” Lily’s eyes widened. “Did you know about this?” She asked Kate, Ingrid, and Violet.

“Yeah, that’s why you won’t see those horses off Jorvik,” Pauline murmured. “They are dependent on being close to Pandoric magic to survive. They can’t leave Jorvik.”

“But no one saw fit to mention?” Lily squeaked.

“Don’t worry, you bond with the Jorvik horse that has the wild magic that suits your nature,” Polly said.

“Okay,” Lily said in a small voice. “Pandoria.”

“It’s this magical realm that is beyond our own and that, somehow the magic of it leaks through the Rune Stones and into Jorvik,” Penny said. “No one outside the druids knows much about it. Though, the druids don’t say much. There might be people that live in Pandoria and everything, but no one really knows. You hear _rumors._ That’s why no one questions the druids overly much. You don’t know what they can do.”

Lily rubbed her forehead. “Well, that’s something to worry about later I suppose. Right now, special plushies for those who don’t bring their own plushies to Jorvik, and making it a contest.”

“I think that could appeal to James. He could have started a trend. Though we’ll have to figure out something for those who ‘win.’” Polly made quotes with her fingers.

“Since he’d probably try to give them the spare clothes out of his closet,” Penny said dryly.

“Okay, that sounds like a plan for you,” Lily said and pointed at Pia, Penny, and Polly. “Make it so.”

Pauline giggled. “You’re being Picard again.”

“Now about geocaching,” Lily said. “Does anyone know anything about it outside of Andy?”

“Research!” Pauline said.

Violet pulled out her phone and bent over it. “Okay, I’m seeing a couple ways to do this. We have Andy’s way, which is to set up clues and whoever gets through them first gets the prize.”

“Pbbth,” Ingrid said. “How dull. We want everyone to feel like they’ve won.”

“Okay, so you need to set out little boxes with stamps in them. There would be log books inside so everyone can see who else has found the clue. Then when they return to Andy with their booklet of stamps from certain areas, they’d get a prize.”

“Yes, yes, good.”

“And we can do that a couple ways it looks like. We can have the written clues like Andy is doing that require knowledge of the area.”

“Hmm, then we better have the Token book littered with those clues,” Lily said.

“Coordination,” Polly nodded.

“We can also do map coordinates, give them a list of coordinates, they find them on their explorations, and get the stamps,” Violet added. “Or, lastly, you can set a start point and make it like a treasure map. Go so many steps north, that sort of thing.”

“Ohhh, orienteering!” Penny cooed.

“Why not all three? It will keep people busy. We’ll just have to have a _really good_ selection of prizes.” Pauline said.

“We can coordinate it across all the Clubs,” Lily nodded. “Have Firgrove be the center for Geocaching or whatever Andy wants to call it. Fort Pinta be the center for cute plushies going on vacation.”

“There can be flyers and posters, and post cards,” Pia nodded.

“It’s not that it was a bad idea,” Polly sighed.

“It’s just we aren’t going to do the work for nothing,” Penny rolled her eyes.

“Right. We have to have James and Andy putting skin into the game,” Lily said. “We’ve got a trail ride started at the Winery. In fact, we’re supposed to be getting the explosives to start the tunnel section.”

“Firgrove area has the Red String Trail Ride,” Violet said. “They do a special event every spring, but anyone can do it all year.”

“That’s what we need, trail rides in every area. Have flyers for them too,” Lily tapped her chin. “For this informational center.”

“And have maps with everything important a tourist could want to know on them,” Ingrid said.

“So we don’t have a repeat of the other day,” Pia groaned.

“And she’d been to Fort Pinta before supposedly!” Penny rolled her eyes.

Lily finished her lunch. “Right. Well, keep us posted on both of these ideas.”

“We should have another meeting.”

“Or we can text all the leaders to be thinking about good spots for riding trails, geocaching locations, and cute places to take pictures of stuffed animals.” Pauline said with a roll of her eyes.

“Right ho, keep you posted.” Pia saluted. “Captain Lily!”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Um, maybe you locals could give us a schedule of local events?”

“Yeah, things are really going to start to pick up soon,” Polly said.

“Then we don’t have much time, do we?”

Lily protested. “We’ve already been at this over a month. I’m sure we’ve missed things already.”

“The Potato Festival isn’t much of a festival really.”

“Rainbow Week, Midsummer, Jorvik Stables Open House, Happy Horse Week,” Penny said. “The Fort Pinta Beach Party, shibby dude.”

“Jorvik Stables as in the one over in Jarlaheim or all of them?”

“Right now, it’s just Jarlaheim.”

“Well, that’s dumb,” Lily said. “We’re going to make it Jorvik wide if we have to.”

“Make it so!”

“That joke is already getting old.”

“We’ll have a coordination meeting,” Kate said.

“Drag Loretta by her pretty blonde hair if we have to,” Pauline murmured.

“Okay, we’ll set up a coordination meeting. But for now, we have some stone to explode.” Lily said with a salute.

“Stone to explode?” Pia’s eyes widened.

Lily waved her hand getting the attention of her club. They all packed up and left at a jog. By now, Derek was singularly no longer busy.

“Hello again, ladies.”

“Oh Derek, we hear you have dynamite for us.”

“Tell us, is it sadly a package or your dynamite personality?”

Derek turned red. “Take your boxes and go, you rabid women!” He opened the back of his office and shoved boxes at them.

They laughed and took them, heading off to Steve’s Farm to get their horses.

Derek wiped his face and locked his post office door. Somedays, he didn’t know what to think of them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	23. Chapter 23

Bjorn was in charge of drilling the holes in the wall for the dynamite sticks to go into. Then they’d put the sticks in the holes when he was done, attach the wires, run the wires out towards the road or under the bridge towards the Moon Garden, wait until everyone was out of the way, and then detonate the charges.

So, first, this meant making sure that they had fences set up to keep people out. Good thing Bjorn had thought ahead and kept some of the fences that G.E.D. had been using.

“Waste not, want not,” he said in a matter of fact voice.

They set up the fences to his specifications. Then he gave them hard hats. “All right ladies, while I start drilling, what you’re going to need to do is get some wheelbarrows. I’ve got the truck parked. You’re going to load up the wheelbarrows, then load up the truck. When we’ve got a full load, I’ll take it off to the track site to make into concrete later.”

They all nodded as if this made perfect sense. They jogged off to get shovels and wheelbarrows that had ended up scattered around the garden from their efforts of clearing off the weeds.

“Better get the rakes too,” Pauline said.

“Brooms for the dust,” Stacy murmured.

They came back with barrows full of tools.

Bjorn wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. “Gotta put your back into this to do it right.” He told them with a grin. “Right, the first holes are drilled. Let’s see that dynamite.”

They pried open the boxes with a handy pry bar and some hammers retrieved from the stable.

Bjorn picked it up and examined. “Looks like the stuff. All right, what we’re going to do is cut it down so it doesn’t explode too much.” He brought out what could have been a cigar cutter and showed them how. “Mind your fingers. Wear your gloves.”

They blanched and nodded rapidly.

They cut the first sticks down at his direction and inserted them into the holes he’d drilled into the rock. He showed them how to attach the wires and then they wound the wire out towards the road where a couple other girls had been sent to set up the blast box.

Attaching the wires to the blast box, they were forced to find a hat and fill it with names to see who would press down on the handle and send the first electric spark. Brittany won.

Agnetha and Bjorn moved clear.

“Fire in the hole!” She shouted and gleefully shoved the handle down.

The spark went along the wires and at first there was a puff of smoke, then the dynamite exploded, shaking the ground and breaking up the rock in a great burst of dust, tiny shards of rock, and smoke.

They cheered. Even if they weren’t entirely sure what they were cheering for.

Bjorn chuckled. “Whelp, this would go faster if we had a better way to communicate.”

“James’ walkie talkies!” Lily said.

“James has walkie talkies?” Regina asked.

“Oh, long story,” Lily rubbed her forehead. “I’ll go over and borrow them with a bit of _blackmail._ ” She rolled her eyes. “If he wants help with his photography project, he’ll loan us those walkie talkies. I’ll be back!”

“Photography project?” Elsa murmured.

“I’m not sure if I want to know if it’s James,” Stacy said in a soft voice.

They all had to agree on that, but Pauline having sat through the meeting regaled them in detail about James’ current antics. Bjorn supervised the filling of the wheelbarrows, stopping them before they were too full. “This is rock, not weeds and dirt, girls.” He reminded them.

The girls all reacted in various degrees of outrage and shock about James as they pushed wheelbarrows half full of rock. (Completely full could be too heavy and Bjorn didn’t want them making it too heavy.) They worked together to heft the barrows into the truck and dump them out before going back for more. This was definitely at least a five person job.

* * *

Lily crossed her arms and looked down at James. “I’m singularly unimpressed.”

“I need them,” James gestured with his hands.

Lily raised her brow. “To continue your scam with Mayor Peanut?”

James flushed. “You don’t understand. The tourists love him.”

Lily sighed. “James, did it occur to you, I don’t know, that entering a pony into the race for Mayor was a _bad idea?_ _”_

James shifted on his feet. “I didn’t think anyone would vote for him.”

“Which says a lot about the lack of quality of candidates around here,” Lily looked around. Pia was in an argument with some of the vendors it looked like. Lily wasn’t sure if she cared to know.

Pia’s voice drifted over. “If we clear this area of shops and combine your goods, then we can attract tourists with an art fair or performers!”

“Right,” Lily muttered. “I’m going to stay out of that one. Look James, you seem bright.”

James blinked. “Seem?”

“Until you start trying to defraud people. Which, by the way, _is a crime._ ”

James blinked rapidly.

“So, your _schemes_ could get you in a lot of trouble one day after someone starts looking at you and doesn’t see kid.” Lily patted her horse’s neck. “Then, you’ll lose everything you’ve gained.”

James opened and shut his mouth.

“But you’ve got ideas, and some of them are pretty damn good ideas.” Lily met his eyes. “If you want them to succeed at being good ideas, you’re going to have to put the work into them.” She wrapped the reins around her hand. “We’re willing to _help_ you. Not do 99% of the work for you.”

James flushed. “But I’m not a photographer.”

“Then, dear God in heaven, why did you think that taking photographs of Token was a good idea and not giving Pia the credit she deserves?” Lily’s voice turned tart. “If you think Pia is that great of a photographer. You have an _idea_ , James. But Pia, by all rights, can take whatever plush she likes, run around South New Jorvik County herself, and publish a book so her name will be on the cover, and she gets the royalties if she’s going to be the one doing the work. Getting a publisher and an agent before you even had the photography is,” Lily trailed off. “Talk about putting your cart before your horse to use a Jorvik appropriate metaphor.”

“All right. All right. I get it. I messed up.”

“I think you owe Pia an apology about thinking her work and labor is worth so little.”

James gulped. “What do you mean? How hard it is to pose a stuffed animal and snap a picture.”

“Oh _James,_ ” Lily sighed. “For a professional quality picture, there are going to be hundreds of photos and thousands of shots and experimentation with the time of day and the shutter speed and what about the posing, hats, no hats, scarves?”

“Oh,” James pushed at his glasses. “I didn’t think of it like that.”

“And she’ll have to figure out a way to protect your plush, or else Token could get really dirty.”

James’ eyes widened. “Uh,” he bit his lip. “I don’t want him to get hurt!”

“And neither would she, so she’d have to take extra care that he doesn’t.” Lily raised her brows. “You’re getting a reputation as a user, James. And well, someone who’s dishonest. And that’s going to get around and run away business.”

James sputtered.

“So, I suggest you come up with a story like Mayor Peanut has laryngitis and let me borrow those walkie talkies and we’ll come up with a way to salvage your abysmal reputation. But it will take work on your part and some sincere apologies to your fellow business community members.”

“You don’t understand,” James whined.

“You grew up poor. Got it.” Lily snapped.

James jumped. “How?”

“You’re a grifter, James. That was the next tactic, some sob story to make me feel bad for you, so you wouldn’t have to change a bit.”

James flushed.

“Now, you can continue to play the small game, or you can play by our rules and see the bigger picture. That starts with being a good citizen helping out the representative of the Baroness.” Lily held out her hand and opened and closed her fingers.

James sighed. He pulled the walkie talking out of his back pocket and slapped it into her hand. He marched over to Peanut the pony, and dug the one out of his hat. “I already lost money from Ferdinand because of Pia’s meddling.”

“James,” Lily said in a low voice. “Honest, upstanding, member of the business community, that is your goal. Eyes on the goal.”

James handed her the second walkie talkie. “It was a good deal.”

“For you,” Lily looked down her nose at him.

“Ferdinand got what he wanted,” James whined.

“You weren’t exercising them. You were renting them out to tourists who may or may not know how to _ride_ properly. That’s a recipe for disaster and it won’t come back to Ferdinand. It will come back to _you._ If people get seriously hurt riding horses that haven’t been trained or exercised properly before being taken out, then they could sue you for lots of money.”

James sputtered.

Lily lifted her chin and raised her brows. “You can’t have a stable and have it be _empty._ ”

James shifted on his feet. “I don’t have money to buy horses.”

Lily crossed her arms. “Then perhaps you’re going to have to _keep_ renting from Ferdinand until you _do_ and not try to _steal_ people’s money with ridiculous fines in order to buy said horses.” She pulled her phone out of her pocket and hit speed dial. “Linda, this is Lily.” She smiled. “Yeah, I know you have caller ID. Hey, I’m sitting here in front of James, and he doesn’t have the capital to buy horses from Ferdinand at full price. Are there any yearlings left that you sold to us?”

James stared at her.

“I’ll bring him along and you can help him pick out some nice, docile, good for beginners, easily trainable, trail riding horses,” Lily said. “Thanks Linda.” She turned off her phone. “Okay, Jamsie, here is the deal. The horses at the Silverglade Equestrian Center are 350 Shillings each since it was a really good or bad year depending for foals. The bad news is that they’re all three year olds and are still settling into their personalities. The good news is that with the right training they won’t have any bad habits to undo. You can rent ponies for the kids from Ferdinand until you start making money. You’ll have to pay someone like Pia and the girls to _train_ them to be good trail riding horses, but you’ll have your own horses. They’ll need to be fed, exercised, the stable cleaned. Oh, wait, you have a _club_ here. So, _pay them_ to _help you._ ” Lily waved a hand at Pia.

Pia ran over. “Hey, Lily.”

“Lily, I’m taking James to pick out some of the yearlings at the Winery to be trail riding horses here. Linda and the Baroness are willing to give him the same deal they gave to us. The caveat being that someone is going to need to look after them and make sure they’re being fed quality food and given clean water.”

“I’d never!” James yelped.

The two girls gave him a look.

Pia pushed her hair back. “I think that the girls and I are going to take up a collection and buy into your stable, James. Just to keep you honest.”

James sputtered.

“The more people, the more responsibility gets spread around,” Lily said lightly. “And the more hands to do the work.”

“And we’d have vested interest that way in training the horses,” Pia nodded. “We’d also have a place to board ours and the fees can come out of our salaries.”

James opened and shut his mouth as Lily glared at him.

“The fees will be standard market rates,” Pia said. “Which, we’ve been researching.”

Lily smiled. She held out her hand. “Up you come, James. I’ll give you a call, Pia, when he needs help herding them back.”

“Herding?” James said. He stared at her hand. “I, um, don’t really know how to ride.”

“Well, then we’ll have to teach you. Can’t have a stable owner not knowing how to ride,” Pia quipped. She smiled at Lily and it was rather evil.

“We’re taking a transport,” Lily said. “It is what, three hundred feet.”

James took her hand and she helped him swing up onto the back of her horse. “It won’t be long. I’m sure Linda is sorting the horses out now,” Lily told Pia. She nudged her horse into a walk.

“Why is it so far down?” James gulped.

Lily sighed.

“I’ll have the money ready and we can do our transaction at the bank when we get back,” Pia said sweetly.

“You trapped me,” James accused Lily as they rode past the stone wall and out of Pia’s hearing range.

“You trapped yourself,” Lily said. “If you’d been honest and above board from the get go, it wouldn’t have come to this.”

James frowned. “Then I wouldn’t be making any money.”

“No. You probably would have made more because people would have relied on you to be a good trader. You don’t know how much money you’ve lost because you’ve given people shoddy goods and they’ve gone to someone else,” Lily said. “I doubt you’ve had a lot of repeat customers.” She urged her horse into the horse trailer.

The engine started and the truck pulling the trailer drove slowly away. They could see the countryside passing outside the windows.

James didn’t say much. “Why are you doing this for me?” He asked quietly, in a very small voice. “I upset your friends. You called me a user and a fraud.”

“Because, I think with the right guidance and the right people around you, James, that you can be a good force for this county.” Lily glanced over her shoulder at him. “You want to succeed. You want Fort Pinta to succeed. You put in the best you’ve got and do the work. And we’ll be here helping every step of the way, because we’re stronger together than we are apart. Don’t view the Pony race as competition. Don’t view the Fort Pinta Beach Party as a rival. Those are opportunities to help Fort Pinta and Jorvik grow. If someone rents a pony from you and go and does the pony race with Penny and Polly, that’s not a loss, that’s a win for Fort Pinta and South New Jorvik County as a whole. The more money they spend, the more money goes into the County and the better everyone can live.”

James grumbled.

“Other peoples’ visions may be different than yours, it doesn’t make them wrong,” Lily said evenly. The transport pulled to a stop behind the S.E.C. stables. The door fell open slowly, the electronics whirring.

Lily backed her horse out and rode through the arch stopping under the dome.

Linda came out of the sell side. “I think I’ve got them sorted. Howdy James, I’m Linda. I’m friends with your sister, Alex.”

“I know,” James ducked his head.

“You first,” Lily said.

James slowly got down, not entirely sure how to do it. “So, about these horses.”

“You have a race and also rent for trail rides, right?” Linda said. “These are good racing horses, and also are trainable enough to be trail riding horses. I’d send someone out with them that has experience though.”

Lily cleared her throat. “Pia is the President of the Fort Pinta Pinto Ponies Club and they’re willing to buy in. They can lead the rides. I need to take these walkie talkies off to Bjorn and Agnetha for our tunneling project.”

Linda nodded. “I’ll show him the horses.”

Lily rode off quickly.

Linda put her arm around James’ shoulders. “How many scoldings have you had?”

“Three, so far,” James slouched.

Linda pursed her lips. “All right. Consider yourself scolded a fourth time. I’m doing this for Alex, James. Because she loves you and wants to see you succeed.”

James gulped.

Linda tugged him into the stable to look at the horses. She explained their finer points to James as they waited for Lily to return.

By the time she did, one of the stallions had taken to James, playfully grabbing his hat and running off with it. Linda laughed and said that James had made a friend, that the stallion was definitely _his_ horse. Or he was the stallion’s human.

Lily leaned over. “Isn’t that Fussywithers?”

“Yep,” Linda chortled.

Fussywithers was only a nickname, because the young stallion as _fussy_ and finicky. His water had to be absolutely fresh. His food just right. His stall perfectly clean and pristine. There was no margin of error with Mr. Fussy.

Lily giggled. He was the _perfect_ horse for James. Funny, how the horses that everyone found were the ones they needed. She dialed up Pia and told her to come get James and his new _best friend._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	24. Chapter 24

The Silver Drakes were having a bit too much fun helping Bjorn blast out the tunnel. They took turns pushing down the lever for the explosives and yelling “fire in the hole!” It made Bjorn laugh while Agnetha rolled her eyes.

Once they had a rough tunnel in the bedrock under the paddock, more contractors arrived to help make the tunnel something worthy of being part of Silverglade Manor. These contractors happened to be the same ones who were going to be doing the remodeling of the Wine Cellar for Aaron’s wine and ice cream bar.

The first thing they did was reinforce the tunnel with metal girders and braces that they used long steel screws to set them into place. Then the girls helped them lay out the wiring for the electric lights that both the Bar and the tunnel were going to need.

Once they had the tunnel reinforced and the archway in the Wine Cave, they could cover everything that needed to be covered in concrete and start doing the facings. But that wasn’t necessarily something that the girls could help with outside of getting the materials. The contractors shooed them away and told them to come back later once the place needed the finishing touches.

Agnetha set them right to work though. There were flowers to get from Jorvik City and to plant in the terrace gardens. The kit for the Duck Tower that looked like a rounded dome Greek oracle temple had come in along with the metal cages that went with it and needed to be picked up and installed.

Plus, there were still stray hedgehogs to return to Golden Hills before anyone could start building the new event pavilion by the riding arena and chipmunks still appeared in the terrace gardens to cause havoc by stealing tools and making tunnels under the plants.

So, in this hilarity, they held another meeting of all the Clubs. And this time, Loretta and her girls were supposed to show up. But they didn’t.

Annoyed, Lily and the other Club Presidents rode off to Moorland to find out what had happened to Loretta. Justin didn’t know. He was as confused as the girls, because all of the Bobcat Girls were missing.

Thomas didn’t know anything when they asked him. Jenna was quite frankly annoyed. She’d discovered the Bobcat Girls tendency to fob their work off to campers and she was over it. Maya had a clue. “Well, Loretta threw Tan a birthday party. I’d say it was Loretta but as usual she made the other girls do all the work. They were talking about seeing something new up near Nilmer’s Highland when they came back. I told them about the ghosts on the highland but they didn’t believe me. I thought it might be that, but now, I’m not so sure.”

“We’ll check it out.” Lily said.

They rode towards Nilmer’s Highland together keeping their eyes peeled. It was the bright bit of magenta that gave it away.

“No! No. No! That’s not working!” Someone shouted.

“I have a _bad_ feeling about this,” Ami murmured.

But there was no help of it really. They rode down the road to where it took a sharp bend and off towards the right seated on the top of the plateau like cliff that overlooked Silverglade proper was a deflated pool of magenta and hot pink that could have been a tent, a handsome young man in a top hat, several carts, and a baker’s dozen of white horses with feather plumes in Bobcat Girl Pink on their heads.

“I really have a bad feeling about this,” Ami said.

“Ladies! Ladies!” The young man in the top hat bowed, taking off his top hat. “I am Ydris and this is my circus of dreams. Or, it would be,” he eyed the fallen tent with disdain. “It appears my help lacks the required amount of hands. My Zee is missing and the Fool has wandered off.”

“Zee?”

“My horse, she’s a very special horse,” Ydris waved his hands. He snapped his fingers. “Perhaps, you can help me!”

“We’re actually looking for some people,” Lily said.

“Then, I can help you find them in exchange,” Ydris smiled.

“Oh, no, we found them, ja,” Ingrid shifted on her horse and looked at the white horses. “Of course, calling them people at the moment might be redundant.”

Ydris waved his hand. “Those beauties said they wanted to be part of my circus.”

“Well, that will certainly teach Loretta and company to be a tad more specific, now won’t it?” Kate drawled out.

Lily sighed. “Ydris, I’m going to suppose that there is something they or we can do to get them back to normal.”

“But they are my star attraction.”

Ingrid grimaced. “We aren’t looking to take their places.”

“They shall bring delight and happiness to this world. Isn’t that the greatest joy of all?”

“They’re also _people,_ ” Lily pointed out.

Ydris heaved a great sigh. “Very well, lovely ones. I shall restore their forms in return for a favor from me.”

“Or, we can set up your tent, find your missing horse, and return your fool.” Ingrid smiled.

“The fool no doubt went for a walk, I can hear the jingle of his bells off to the south. Do not be frightened of him, fair maids, for despite his ugly face, there beats within his chest a heart of solid gold.”

“I’ll go get him,” Kate said and trotted away.

“Now, about your tent,” Lily said.

“No matter how hard I try, it won’t stay up. I wave my hands like so, and gesture like this,” Ydris waved his hands and the tent rose into the air and hovered forming the proper shape with clouds of purple energy around it. “But it won’t stay like it’s supposed to.” He lowered his hands and the purple clouds disappeared and the tent collapsed into a heap of garish silk.

“Are you forgetting you need poles and rope?”

Ydris put his hand to his forehead. “Poles and rope. Oh, yes, what mundane things to need. They must be around here somewhere,” he gestured and a rather large group of red and white striped boxes appeared in puffs of purple smoke.

The girls methodically opened the boxes. They found some twigs and twine, but not poles and rope.

Ydris laughed at their findings as Kate returned with a dwarf of a man. “Hahahah, we can make these work my lovelies. Now, watch the Great Ydris perform marvels.” He put his fingers near his forehead, his brow furrowed. And the twigs and twin _popped_ turning into long wooden poles and thick ropes. “Will that do?”

“Well enough,” Pia said.

They dismounted their horses and by dint of picking up the tent and trial and error managed to get the poles and the ropes situated.

“It seems a bit, _floppy._ It is far too sad to be a carnival of dreams, a festival of delights!” Ydris waved his hands.

The girls struggled not to glare at him.

“How foolish, how unprofessional. Xin, I thought better of you!” Ydris exclaimed. “How will we look if you’re doing that when the customers appear?”

Riley helped the fool who had gotten tangled in the ropes to get down.

“Perhaps they need to be tightened,” Ydris waved his hands and the ropes tightened and the tent straightened. But as soon as he lowered them, they all fell back. “My powers aren’t as strong here on this side of the veil.”

The girls mounted their horses, attached the ropes to the saddle. “All together now, _pull,_ _”_ Lily shouted.

The tent slowly rose up.

“Yes. Yes, that’s it. That is my desire!”

The girls got it tight and then lashed off the ropes.

“Now, to truly be a circus, it needs, a _sign!_ _”_ Ydris gestured broadly but nothing happened. “Over there,” he pointed.

Luciana retrieved the sign and they put it over the door.

“Now, about your missing horse,” Sonja said.

“Zee does so enjoy running off,” Ydris sighed. “She’s mad at me you see for saying there could be a better attraction of horses than her. But the beautiful ladies offered and how could I refuse?”

“By not turning them into _horses,_ _”_ Lily said.

A bunch of the girls giggled.

“We shall go ask around if anyone has seen your missing horse,” Kelsey said. She and a couple of the other girls left at a trot to check with Steve, Ed, and Maya if anyone had rumors of an unclaimed horse around.

Kelsey returned with a silver dapple draft horse tagging along behind her. She was teasing it along with cookies.

“Zee!” Ydris exclaimed. “Did you have a marvelous adventure?”

Zee huffed and glared at the white horses.

“Oh yes, erm,” Ydris gestured with his hands and a cloud of purple and pink smoke surrounded the white horses. They returned to being girls, coughing and looking quite embarrassed.

“Thank you,” Lily said sweetly. “Now, before we get going. Is there anything else you need help with?”

“Well, it would be nice to have a tent to part the mists of the future.” Ydris said. “And a way for people to visit me.”

“Then, I’m sure Loretta and her club can return to help you tomorrow,” Lily said with a smile. “And you can work out an equitable way for them to be part of your circus then without changing them into horses.” Lily waved her hand. “Come along, ladies. We have a meeting!”

They offered the Bobcat girls seats on the back of their horses so they didn’t have to return to Moorland. Assuming that is where all of their horses were.

They formed up into two long lines and trotted away from the circus, back onto Nilmer’s proper before swinging onto the road to Silverglade.

Loretta didn’t say anything until they’d passed the turn off through the Silver Wood. She cleared her throat. “Thank you. May we never speak of this again?”

Lily raised a brow at her.

Loretta at least had the grace to flush.

“We make no promises we aren’t sure we can’t keep,” Kate told her in a dry tone.

They stabled their horses in Steve’s Paddock and rejoined the rest of their clubs at the Council House.

“All right, now that we’re all here,” Kate said. “Let’s begin. Captain Lily, the floor is yours.”

“In old business, I believe we have managed to set up the Farmer’s Market to our satisfaction and things are progressing quickly at Silverglade Manor. Soon, the restaurant, garden trails, and ice cream bar will be open for business. Luciana, how goes the racing event for the Dew Family.”

Luciana stood. “We’ve managed to gather several corporate and private sponsors around South New Jorvik County and in Jorvik City to match the donations of those who are getting individual sponsors. We’re going to start putting out flyers at different stables soon.”

“Amelia, Ginny, any news on the G.E.D. front?”

Ginny and Amelie looked at each other. “I’m not sure where to begin, oui,” Amelia said.

“Because there’s a _lot,_ ” Ginny rubbed her forehead. “And we’ve lost track of Mr. Kemball.”

“We know where he is,” Ingrid said with a huge sigh.

“Well, did anyone local know that the previous mayor of Jarlaheim, Mayor Eileen is missing?” Amelia asked.

The local girls looked at each other, eyes wide.

“No. Not at all,” Pauline murmured. “She was well liked too.”

“Swell mayor,” Tyra agreed with a nod.

“Well, she’s missing and Herman, the man who runs Jorvik Stables thinks that G.E.D. is to blame. We’ve got ourselves an in with Ms. Drake, the woman in charge of G.E.D. around the Jarlaheim area.”

“Oh, we’ve run into her over in Dundull. She was the one behind trying to sell our spring water,” Rania pounded the table with her fist.

“Her brother is in charge over in Epona. He’s got Junior Buttergood of the Buttergood family on his side.” Ginny grimaced.

Amelie held up her hand. “We’ve been working on the behest of Herman to find out what G.E.D. is doing around Jarlaheim. From what we’ve been able to gather, they’re looking for places to drill. Not for oil like they were doing here in Silverglade under Mr. Kemball, but for a type of crystal that they believe has more energy and power than oil.”

“In fact, we think they’ve already started drilling in Hillcrest.” Ginny added.

“Wait, aren’t you based in Hillcrest?” Lily asked.

Ginny shook her head. “That’s New Hillcrest. Hillcrest is situated on top of one of the Greydew Mountains. Right now, right outside of where the town should be is a G.E.D. housing construction area and we think a _wall._ We haven’t been able to get close enough to find out.”

“Herman wants us to take one of the old paths up there to find out and we’ve told him absolutely not,” Amelia said firmly. “That is a sure way to get someone caught, especially when he insists on going with us. It’d no doubt be him. Working our way into Ms. Drake’s trust is slower, but surer and safer.”

“There is an organization in Epona who seems to be trying to stand against G.E.D.” Ginny said slowly.

“Do you trust them?” Lily asked.

“When the leader is named Mrs. X?” Ginny widened her eyes. “Absolutely not. The people that we’ve met that claim to be part of this organization aren’t, well, they’re like Jamie Olivetree. They’re nice people, good intentions.”

Violet spoke up. “But seem to have some shady morals.”

Ginny nodded.

“Personal experience?” Lily asked.

“We’ll let them finish,” Ingrid said.

“Herman claims to have a friend testing the samples for him. But we haven’t heard anything back yet despite the bucket load we’ve given them.” Amelia made a face. “I’m worried that he’ll try to do something without us as we try to head off this feud between the Sunfields and the Goldspurs.

“The Goldspurs stole the Sunfield chickens, the kids are dating, Freya is mean to the cat so it runs off,” Josefina rolled her eyes. “At least the Jarlssons aren’t part of it.”

“There’s a nice young woman putting in a theatre in Jarleheim. I don’t know who is going to attend since the city seems mostly empty. There are a lot of empty shops. We’ve helped one young man put in a clothing shop but I’m not sure it’s the right area for it.” Amelie shrugged. “Mostly, there is very little word on what happened to Eileen. And we aren’t sure the G.E.D. is set up legally where they are either.”

“Right, I think pictures are in order and maybe finding out who is in charge of that part of the County like the Baroness is in charge of Silverglade.”

“Oui, and where is the _Count_ and Countess in all of this,” Amelia scowled.

“Golden Hills,” Riley said. “I think. Or they’re supposed to be. There’s a castle up in the mountains above Cape West.”

“We need proof that they are parked where they are illegally and have something to do with the missing Mayor,” Lily said. “Without proof, then they aren’t going anywhere.”

“You’re really knowledgeable about this,” Kate observed.

“I like true crime shows,” Lily wrinkled her nose.

Kate narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure that entirely explains it.”

“Anything else on G.E.D. in Epona, Ginny?”

“They want to buy out the stable, though I’m not sure why. It does sit on a spur between South Hoof and Sunset Islands. The entire south west area of Epona is notorious for shipwrecks. That’s why people avoid it and go to Cape West instead.” Ginny shrugged. “Or up to Cape Point.”

Lily Bones leaned forward from her spot at one of the big tables. “Having Junior Buttergood in their pocket gives them the entire area of Old Ridgecaster to do whatever they want to do. Scott is trying to fix a bridge over the Old Thunder at the moment. Robert is working with the secret organization. He tried to hire us to sabotage the G.E.D. equipment. They’ve also are drilling on one of the nearby islands. They’ve got up a gate and a guard on it.”

“You can get in if you’re careful by jumping onto the island from down below,” Ginny said. “But, you have to be careful.”

Lily Bones continued. “We refused to help Robert. It wasn’t _him_ that would get caught and hurt.”

Lily nodded. “Understandable.”

“We’ve spent more time helping Terrance Rockwell stop being a berserk infected monster, than we’ve been able to do anything productive. He claims he fell into the Cauldron where Witch Pi lives in the Golden Hills and got poisoned by the marsh water. But he won’t tell us what he was doing there in the first place.”

“Pi?” Riley groaned. “Oh, we’ve had to deal with Pi. She’s working with Dark Core. We’re trying to get her back to normal. The Cape West Mayor is her husband.”

Lily turned her attention to Melissa. “What is happening in Valedale then?”

“Dark Core has set up a mining site above the lake and it’s turning the water green. You can see it barely from the village itself. Both waterfalls are being contaminated. Valedale doesn’t have a mayor. It has Elisabeth Sunbeam of the druids. She doesn’t seem to want much to do with us since we don’t have any druidic powers.”

Lily blinked. “Ohkay.”

“But, we brought this issue to her attention and she sent us to speak with another druid in town named Avalon. Well, he started mixing up a drug to make the Dark Core guards more susceptible to suggestion so they’d leave.”

“A drug?” Kate gaped.

“Is this _normal_ here?” Lily asked looking at Emma, Pauline, and any other local girl that she could catch their eyes.

“We said that we weren’t drugging anyone!” Violet said. “And that made Avalon broody and now he won’t speak to us to come up with an alternative form of actions.”

“People respect the druids,” Sonja said. “But we don’t know much about them and what they can do. That’s why we speak softly around them.”

“Sabotage. Drugging people. Breaking and entering?” Lily gestured with her hands. “When we took on G.E.D. in Moorland and here, we did it by the books! We followed the law and got the proper authorities involved. We might not be able to do anything about the G.E.D. on the Buttergood lands because Junior wants them there. But come on, they can’t just park in the mountains and drill without proper permits and permissions. Same for Jarlehiem or Moorland Beach.”

“Maybe we can do something about the Buttergoods, but that means involving Walter Winterwell and making him care about the state of his land.” Ginny said with a shrug. “But if he refuses to open Fort Maria again, I don’t know if he’ll care about drilling on the Buttergoods no matter if it’s going to contaminate the entire area. They don’t have any discretion with their dump sites.”

“Probably _illegal,_ ” Lily Bones said.

“Why is Fort Maria closed?” Lily asked.

“Haunted,” Ginny said. “Or so goes the rumor.”

“Is _everything_ in this area haunted? Nilmer’s Highland, the Arena in Jorvik Stables, now Fort Maria.” Lily waved her hands. “Aren’t the druids supposed to be doing something about that?”

Amelia spoke up. “I say the adults around here are crazy and not to be trusted.”

“Seconded,” Ami said.

“Thirded,” Kate added.

“Motion carried,” Lily said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	25. Chapter 25

Lily continued moving forward with the meeting. “This means we have to find the proper adults and involve the proper authorities such as the Jorvik Rangers.”

“They have a station near Dundull,” Luciana said.

“Then, that’s a good place to start,” Lily said. “Riley, see if you can find this Count. We can look in the library or ask an audience of the Baroness if we must. But we have to have everything documented. Get pictures, video. Loretta, you need to get pictures and video of what Dark Core is up to on the Moorland Beach. Kelsey, you think they’re headed to South Hoof.”

“They’re stealing horses, we think.” Kelsey rubbed her forehead. “Madison is more hindrance than a help. No one has an accurate count of the horses on the peninsula and that they’re using it as a rescue station isn’t helping any.”

“Madison turns everything into a story. She’s highly imaginative, and as such, her parents refuse to believe a word she says because they think she’s making it up.” Cathy pressed her lips together.”

Kelsey simmered. “It’s incredibly frustrating.”

“Her father keeps lecturing us for getting caught up in it. I’m afraid something terrible is going to happen to a horse we know is on the island and Madison is going to run off before he’s willing to _listen._ ” Cathy sucked her cheeks in and drummed her fingers on the table. “They’re not expressly the most present of parents. Her stepmother would rather be out surfing than helping with the farm or Madison. The lighthouse is in the wrong area to watch.”

“They’re putting in right across from Moorland right? Is there a spot you can keep an eye on them up on top of the cliffs?”

“There could be,” Kelsey said. “We’ll have to rotate shifts. South Hoof is sparsely populated and the Hermit, the only other person that could help us, is on the other side of the peninsula. And he likes us well enough to put up with us coming around to help the Welshies, he’s still a Hermit.”

Cathy tapped her fingers on the table. “We believe that the person in charge of this operation is one Mr. Anwir.”

“Sorry, I wish we had more,” Kelsey sighed. “But getting anyone to trust us has been a major chore.”

“Except Madison,” Cathy made a face.

“What is Dark Core supposed to be doing?” Lily asked. “Anybody know?”

“Drilling for oil off the western side of Jorvik,” Loretta said promptly. She bit her lip.

“Then we should be able to find their rigs,” Riley said. “I’ll talk to Captain Brus.”

“We might be able to see them off of Paddock Island or behind the Jorvik Stables,” Amelia said.

“The problem is that is where the G.E.D. is hiding out,” Josefina said.

Ginny sighed. “I wish we could help more, but we’re barely hanging on as a Club as it is. If Nathalie loses the stables,” she trailed off.

“You aren’t going to lose your stables,” Lily said firmly.

“You have _Friesians,_ ” Luciana breathed. “They are truly some of the magnificent of horses. Not as magnificent as my Sirio.”

“Right, and your name is ripe for a bulldog pet shop,” Lily nodded. “And I’m sure Anastasia will be in touch with all of you soon enough about new clothing and gear for your clubs to open up shops of your own to make money.”

“But how are we going to pay her,” Ginny said.

“Do you do trail rides?” Lily asked.

“No.”

“Better start,” Lily said with a nod. “Through the Mirror Marsh maybe?”

“It’d have to be cleaned up and better flowers planted,” Ginny chewed her lip.”

“At the very least, clean it up. You can add flowers later.”

Helen giggled. “Some of the plants might be the water chestnuts the Li’s have been growing in the marsh for ages.”

“You’re joking,” Lily breathed.

“Not at all,” Ami laughed. “We asked where they planned on getting the water chestnuts and they got all mysterious until they were forced to ask us to go gather some for the restaurant.”

“Wow,” Pauline said. “Just, wow.”

“Brassy,” Kate murmured.

“And you better lead those trail rides,” Pia said with a groan.

“What happened now?” Lily asked.

“Oh, _right_ before the switch to us helping out, James rented out horses to this German family. Well, it went about as wrong as you could expect. A horse stumbled. Someone got thrown, the other took off running, and they lost their daughter somehow. We had to track everyone down, check the road for holes, and fix the road. It was _a mess._ _”_ Pia waved her hands.

Penny sighed. “At least the tourists didn’t sue. They were very jolly about it all really. We gave them a refund and told them to come back in a few days for a proper trail ride along the beach, Doyle’s Abbey, and Thorn Rocks.”

“Alls well that ends well,” Pia said.

“Offering trail rides with the stock already in your stables is probably the fastest and cheapest way to start earning money for the down payments on stock for pet shops and clothing and gear shops,” Lily said.

“Since we don’t all have the sponsorship of the Baroness,” Loretta said with a sniff.

Lily smiled sweetly. “Do try to negotiate a fair rate for performing in Ydris’ circus, Loretta.”

Loretta flushed.

“Ingrid, you said you know where Kemball is?”

“Ja, he’s hiding out in an old farmstead near the mountains in Firgrove. He is advertising it as a lover’s getaway. He might simply be squatting. The place has been empty for years, but there’s a G.E.D. dump site nearby.

“Ugh.” Lily said. “Well, if you can get him out.”

“Oh, we will,” Ingrid cracked her knuckles.

“Is that all the old business?”

“All that I can think of,” Kate said and rifled through her notes from the last meeting.

“Onto new business then, events to bring tourism and business to our stables,” Lily said. “What is local and coming up?”

“Well,” Pauline frowned. “It’s past foaling season and the Potato festival.”

“Which isn’t much of a festival,” Tyra muttered.

“Next is Rainbow Week,” Loretta said. “It’s a celebration of friendship, and all forms of love. In the past, Moorland has hosted it in the event space next to Jasper’s. We have a parade from Moorland to Fort Pinta, decorate, things like that.”

Ami spoke up. “Mr. Li was telling us that during Rainbow Week in Firgrove there is a tradition his family brought with them called the Red String Trail Ride.”

“Is this appreciation or appropriation?” Lily asked.

“Appropriation,” Ami grimaced. “Basically, you and your friends ride up the trail and tie a red string at the top with the others and this is supposed to make lifelong friends and renew your bonds. Along the trail, they have picnic spots and different artists performing.”

“How heartwarming,” Ginny said dryly.

Tyra spoke up. “We also send out friendship letters that week. Derek gets overloaded. Usually, we have to help him out.”

“There’s a friendship race at Jorvik Stables with prizes,” Lynn said. “I always enjoyed going. They also have a special showjumping event during that time.”

“And this year,” Loretta smiled tightly, “we’ve managed to convince JoJo Siwa to come to Jorvik and sing.”

“So, we need rainbow decorations, hearts, crystal sun catchers?” Lily asked.

“And bows for Jojo. She really loves her bows,” Loretta said.

“It is a great idea,” Tan said. “I’m so happy she could come. You’re just jelly that I came up with it and not you.”

“Ladies, ladies,” Lily said. “There’s no need for that.”

“There usually are also a lot of actual rainbows during rainbow week,” Pauline said. “It’s weird, but it’s also Jorvik.”

“After that is the Midsummer Festival,” Loretta said. “Also hosted at Moorland, and the Fort Pinta Beach Party with the Fort Pinta Beach Association.”

“First I’ve heard of them,” Lily looked around. The other girls looked mystified, even Pia.

“Well, the guy who is in charge of it is in university,” Tan said. “He’s not around much.” She played with her bracelets.

“We just came,” Penny said with a shrug. “So, we might not have met him yet.”

“Okay, track the Fort Pinta Beach guy down and see if he can set up something during Rainbow Week too,” Lily said.

Kate scribbled notes.

“Midsummer is helped out by the Jorvik Rangers,” Loretta added. “They insist on doing the pole and having the bonfire. There’s the feast of course, fishing for prizes, and the dream tent.”

“Okay, then what?” Lily asked.

“Happy Horse Week, it’s Jorvik’s birthday,” Tyra said with a grin. “Jorvik Stables runs an open house.”

Amelia nodded. “Johanna gives beginning riding lessons during that time. And there are a couple special races including two cross country races and a showjumping race. Andy brings his petting zoo over too.”

“In Moorland, we have a huge birthday cake,” Loretta sniffed. “There is also the golden horseshoe hunt for prizes.”

“What’s the Horse part of this?” Lily asked. “Outside of an open house, I have heard nothing about horses.”

“Well, we really should be celebrating the origins of the Jorvik Warmblood Sport and Jorvik Starter Pony.” Tyra said. “At least, at the Winery and Fort Pinta.”

“We could maybe do an informational riding trail,” Luciana said. She tapped her chin. “Like, the more stables you go to for their open house, you get a sticker or a stamp, and you earn a prize once you get them all. Each stable can having a sign or an interactive riding event that talks about the horses’ special characteristics and their history.”

“Is the horseshoe hunt popular?” Lily asked. “Sorry, random thought.”

“Very,” Tan said. “People get lost and stuck in the strangest places looking for them.”

“Then, maybe a bow hunt during Rainbow Week in honor of JoJo Siwa. We can use bows to help spread the word too, by handing them out. I mean, if that’s what JoJo is about?”

“Friendship and boosting each other up,” Tan said. “She’s radical.”

“Anything else about Happy Horse Week?”

“Not really,” Loretta shrugged.

“Okay, we’ll have to figure out more later. Now, I know of two things. Andy wants to start a geocaching contest out of Firgrove. And James has gotten wind of the trend of ‘your stuffed animal takes a vacation’ and wants to do a book with his stuffed dragon, Token. Of course, both of them want us to do the work.”

There was a major set of groans from everyone.

Lily held up her hand for silence. “But since we’re smarter than that. They’re both good ideas and while I think we should help them implement them. They’re going to have to do a lot of the work themselves. I don’t mind shepherding them around to find locations so they don’t get hurt. But if they want say, historical research, they’re going to have to interview people and so on.”

Ginny squeaked. “Hayden’s pet spider has had babies.”

“Who in the world has a pet spider?” Lily shuddered.

“And well, Hayden thinks they want to play hide and seek.”

“People are afraid of Spiders.”

“Then they’re going to have to hide really well.”

Lily rubbed her forehead. “Assuming they have legs, they can hide where they please. But I’m not going to look for them.”

“We thought to make it a contest? There are like one hundred of them? How many can you find? Bring pictures and get a prize. Of course, Hayden would rather us gather them up and bring them back.”

“That’s nice. Someone who likes spiders can do it,” Lily squeaked.

The room seemed divided half in half over who was okay with spiders and who didn’t want anything to do with them.

“I mean, it’s the great outdoors and as long as they are outdoors and not bugging anyone,” Lily trailed off. “Just, keep it that way.”

“Maybe we should tag them like they do birds,” Ginny mused.

“Not a bad idea,” Lily said. “That way if they move, Hayden can’t be fooled by duplicate pictures. Basically, we need to get James, Andy, and now Hayden to agree and set up times with us to get everything sorted.”

“Before Rainbow Week,” Pauline said. “That’s going to be a prime time to start advertising these things.”

“Right, Rainbow Week, we need decorations, costumes, all rainbow themed and I think sun catchers are a great idea as long as they aren’t near the hay.”

“We should have streamers and things,” Pauline nodded.

“We always have balloons and put arches over the road to Fort Pinta,” Loretta said.

“We should do fireworks, and if we get the Fort Pinta Beach Association involved, we can do those rainbow colored floating lanterns,” Tyra said. “That’s my favorite part of the party.”

“Hearts, there need to be hearts. Rainbow hearts!”

“Doesn’t the tailor in Silverglade love rainbow themed things?” Lily asked. “I remember his stall being very colorful.”

“Oh, Daxton, he does amazing teddy bears! I’m sure he can come up with great stuffed animals for all the events. Didn’t we want horse plushies for an informational store in Fort Pinta for the horses?” Pia bounced in place.

Violet spoke up. “We can definitely talk to the craft vendors about having special merchandise at the stables and definitely at the festival venue in Moorland.”

“We should have a hunt for turn ins for prizes for each event,” Kelsey said.

“That leaves Midsummer needing one,” Kate checked her notes.

“Right,” Lily drummed her fingers on the table. “How far away is this?”

“About two weeks,” Loretta smirked.

“Then we’ll get on the Baroness to get things ready at the Winery.”

Ami nodded. “And we’re full steam ahead at the Stormgarden.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to have the pavilion ready, but we can at least have the riding trail complete and do special events either in the paddock in the Moon Garden or down in the Riding Arena. Okay, everyone plan out what they need to do. Loretta has the parade and the festival venue to deal with. Oh, Pia, Ydris is opening up a circus on Nilmer’s. You might want to add that information to the tourist center.”

Pia nodded.

“And he might want to decorate for rainbow week or something.” Lily bit her lip. “Not that he seems the most trustworthy of fellows. Okay, everyone think of fun rainbow and friendship themed things to implement into Rainbow Week and we shall meet back here in a week for updates!” She banged down the gavel dramatically.

“Make it so!” Kate shouted.

While Loretta rolled her eyes. The rest broke into laughter. A couple headed outside to grab food from the local cafes so they could have a quick dinner together. Loretta’s adventure with the circus had definitely made the meeting last longer than it should have.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	26. Chapter 26

After conferring with Linda, Lily requested a meeting with the Baroness and invited Antonia, Aaron, Anastasia, Agnetha and Judy to join too. She laid out what they knew about Dark Core and G.E.D. being in the Silverglade Area. “We all want to deal with this in the safest and most legal way possible, Baroness. We want you to know what we’ve uncovered as we uncover it,” Lily said. Then she explained about wanting to expand Rainbow Week all over South New Jorvik County and how they hoped to have everything here at the Winery, outside of the big pavilion, ready before then.

“If that’s not ready, mother, we can put up a temporary fair one until after the festival,” Anastasia suggested brightly.

“We can have a special friendship dessert,” Aaron looked pleased with the idea.

Antonia leaned back. “I don’t see why we can’t have our Grand Opening this Rainbow Festival. Maybe the Stormgarden will be ready to do the same and we can exchange tourists.”

“Rainbow sherbet,” Aaron mused, “with a heart sugar cookie.”

The Baroness smiled fondly at her son. “That sounds delicious.”

“We can tint the heart red of course,” Aaron wiggled in his seat.

“Or, well, there’s a way to freeze and layer cookie dough to make rainbows,” Stacy said. “I can find a video on J-Tube, I’m sure. There might be several different variations.”

“I think that this calls for fireworks at the castle,” The Baroness said. “We can find fireworks that fit the theme of course.”

“There are three events this summer. You don’t want to wait for Midsummer or Happy Horse Week?”

The Baroness waved a hand. “Surely we can do fireworks for every occasion.”

Lily nodded.

Linda scribbled down notes.

“Well, Jorvik Stables has a friendship race, and Firgrove is doing the Red String Trail Ride,” Lily said.

Linda cleared her throat and it sounded like she was saying ‘appropriation.’

“Moorland is hosting the festival as usual. And they invited JoJo Siwa, though I’m not sure exactly where she’s performing. Was there something special that we can do?” Lily asked. “Other than the fireworks at the Castle?”

“Hmm,” the Baroness tilted her head. “We don’t want to encroach on Jorvik Stables or the Li Family tradition that got translated into a trail ride.” Her lips twitched indicating she knew the origins of the trail.

“Yellow roses are a sign of friendship,” Linda said and pushed up her glasses.

“As are friendship bands,” Regina said. “We want everyone to go to every stable right? Why not have special charms they can get at each stable to go on their friendship bands. The more stables you visit with a friend, the more charms you get. We can use the yellow rose for ours.”

“I can add a rose decoration to the dessert,” Aaron said.

“Why not make it a craft thing in our pavilion? Like a rose on a headband or a rose wreathe?” Linda asked. “Topaz is another friendship stone. We can get topaz beads and make old fashioned headbands with them. It’s not a race or a trail ride, but put it in the middle of the Rose Garden Trail Ride, they can stop, rest, make a headband, and move on.”

“Then we definitely should hire people play in all the places we’ve got for them to be playing,” Anastasia said. “We must have music and I know several classical quartets.” A look at them told them that there was no way that the Baroness would allow a pop star like JoJo Siwa into her venues.

“I believe that will cover a ‘special’ event,” the Baroness nodded. “Judy, I think you should be the one handing out the charms.”

“Yes, Baroness,” Judy nodded. “That does make sense.”

“Then, we need to get working,” Agnetha said. “And not lazing around here. Especially if we’ve got a grand opening to make spectacular.”

Stacy stayed behind to help Aaron come up with the best cookie, yellow rose out of white chocolate, and ice cream combo looks wise while the rest went to help with the garden. Agnetha wasn’t going to hold back now!

* * *

The next week was extremely busy! Given that they were going to be doing their grand opening during Rainbow Week, Agnetha drove them harder than ever. She even conceded to let Bjorn go to Jorvik City and pick up the masses and masses of flowers and turf they were going to need to finish everything up properly.

Trucks arrived hauling in everything from a new Romanesque style bandstand, rustic furniture for the Wine Cellar, the lights and benches for the gardens, and even the statues that had been on order.

Why, Agnetha conceded to renting another composter and buying a gas tank to put behind her house to fill it up. That was how much debris there was and how fast they were moving to get rid of it.

Though, the new bandstand inspired Agnetha to train roses on it. Then when the sitting area for the Baroness came in, she did the exact same thing. So, the club decided that it was simply Agnetha being Agnetha. The sitting area being a curved rectangular style gazebo with nice cushioned seats in it where the Baroness could get the best afternoon light.

But by the end of the week and the next meeting, they had most of the important work done for the Moon and Folly Terrace gardens including putting out the lights and benches, and having _most_ of the flowers planted. The Temporary Pavilion had arrived for the event and so they had a checklist for the next week, finish planting the Folly Terrace Gardens, clean up and plant around the pavilion and the Riding Arena, install a duck coop behind the Arena, and clean, install furniture, and decorate the Wine Cellar.

Through the week Lily received texts about ideas from each Riding Club about what they should do for their special events. Ingrid kept sending exclamation points and heart emojis as this revealed new artists and ideas for the Flea Market. However, Loretta had been suspiciously silent and that _worried_ Lily.

They convened for a meeting.

Loretta laid out the pictures of everything she had.

They all stared at her. “What’s this?”

“The decorations for rainbow week,” Loretta sniffed.

Lily rubbed her forehead. “Where are the rainbows?”

Loretta pressed her lips together.

“Loretta, this is all _Bobcat pink,_ ” Kate said and crossed her arms.

“And are these arches trailing Ivy?” Pia poked at them.

“I’ve had Catherine running my club ragged trying to make the perfect Friendship cake all week and this is _not_ going to cut it for decorations to go with the chocolate cake topped with _local_ strawberries and blueberries and sprinkled with powdered sugar.” Amelia said.

“Or all the rainbow colored teddy bears that I’ve been busting my ass all week to get the dye for Daxton!”

Pia poked at it. “And where are the bows. I’ve got the Siwanators camped out in Fort Pinta gushing about the bows.”

“Siwanators?” Lily asked, her eyes wide. She tried not to sound too appalled.

“Super fans. They’re real names of Saffi and Selma.”

“Oh thank the dear and fluffy Lord,” Lily murmured.

“They’ve been making rainbow sequin covered bows to hand out and are insisting they need to be on the arches too.” Pia rubbed her forehead. “And, and you know, everywhere as decorations.”

“Pushy,” Lily observed. “Loretta, this isn’t going to do.”

Loretta crossed her arms. “Those are what we always use.”

“And they aren’t appropriate for a county wide celebration,” Lily’s voice turned sharp. She had beyond had it with Loretta’s attitude.

Loretta smacked her hands on the table. “You’re just a jumped up stable girl, and a foreigner at that.”

Someone, Lily wasn’t sure who since she was locked in a staring contest of wills with Loretta, made a whinnying bray.

Loretta turned deep red and broke Lily’s gaze.

Lily inhaled deeply. It was tempting to bitch the girl out. She let it out slowly. “Loretta,” she tried for as patient as possible. “Our competition needs to end outside of the eventing circuits. It doesn’t matter _which_ Club ends up at the Claymore Challenge, it matters that _the best one_ does. When we walk through these doors to convene as Presidents, we’re doing things for the good of the _entire_ county. We can’t keep doing things the _old_ way and expect it to advance the county. We aren’t trying to put one Club ahead here in the public eye, but all of them, us, in our _rainbow_ of colors. This week is about Friendship and Love.”

Loretta scowled.

“And about coming together as Clubs,” Pia nodded.

“You’ve had a stranglehold on this area for how long?” Amelia raised her brow.

Ginny mumbled, “Too long.”

“Were you even going to buy new things?” Ingrid asked. “Or were we supposed to match you?”

Loretta chewed her lip.

Lily held up her hands. “All right, let’s each of us get on our phones and have our best party girls meet up at Fort Pinta and go to the city for decorations. We’re going to be here a while, so they might as well do that, and this way, they can forward us pictures and we can approve before any money is spent.”

The Presidents pulled out their phones and made the calls, even Loretta.

“Okay, let’s start from the top,” Lily said. “Regina suggested doing a friendship bracelet, and then making it so that every stable they go to with their friends, they get a charm when they talk to the Stable Master.”

“They can make their bracelets at the festival site in Moorland, and choose whatever order they want to go in from there,” Pauline said with a glance at Loretta. “That could count as the Moorland craft?”

“I was thinking, maybe a photo booth?”

“Like different ones, or one?”

“Different ones so they can make an album. Definitely one with Jojo Siwa at Moorland, we’ve got more Clubs than we do the colors of the rainbow but maybe the photo booths are in Club colors for simplicity sake?”

Lily texted Regina. “Photo booths or photo walls, just something they can take pictures together.”

“It should probably be something fairly simple,” Riley said.

“And something that we can just switch out some decorations for the next festival,” Another girl nodded.

“So, colored sheets?” Lily asked cynical.

“That sounds about right.”

The girls stifled giggles.

Lily’s phone buzzed. “Regina wants to know since rainbow week is about _friendship_ if she should be getting yellow rose decorations to go with these photo walls? Not canary, she says because canary is obnoxious but more champagne?” Lily raised a brow. “And she’s asking about beads.”

“As long as it’s not too wedding like,” one girl wrinkled her nose.

“Wouldn’t that be funny if there ended up being some weddings,” another giggled.

“Well, Regina thinks that most the decorations we’re going to find are going to be wedding or wedding adjacent for the photo booth, walls, whatever,” Lily rolled her eyes and set down her phone. “Okay, Loretta, Jojo Siwa is performing at the fairgrounds, you have the parade, and that’s where the friendship bracelets are going to be.”

Loretta nodded.

Lily turned to Pia. “Pia, you have Siwanators in Fort Pinta with sequin bows.”

“Yes, and they want _bunting,_ lots and lots of swag bunting.”

Lily picked up her phone again to text Regina.

“Isn’t there bunting on the Championships?” One of the girls asked. “We should change it out for appropriately themed rainbows.”

“This is going to be so gay pride.”

“All types of love, _all types,_ ” came the reminder.

“What else is going on,” Lily asked Pia trying to stay on topic.

“Well, the horse Linda sold James,” Pia started.

“Fussywithers?” Lily asked.

“Wait, that’s who Fussy went to?” Pauline gaped. She burst into giggles.

“Fussywithers,” Pia sniggered. “I’m not calling him anything else now, Fussywithers is giving James fits by living up to his name of being fussy and wanting everything perfect. Fussy and Mayor Peanut have _bonded_ , so we’ve been sending James and Fussy out with Mayor Peanut to get _exercise_ every day.”

“That’s perfect,” Ami giggled.

“And he’s seen the disrepair of some of the places and has decided that right now he’s going to take photographs himself as an _awareness_ campaign as he searches for spots to take pictures of Token.” Pia wrinkled her nose. “All according to plan. They have a warm up run they do around Fort Pinta area, and then they go off into the unknown. Or, as unknown as James gets. He met up with Andy and just as we wanted, they’re conspiring to well, explore together, and coordinate their geocaching and Token Takes Jorvik book.”

“Now, all they have to do is meet Hayden,” Pauline said.

“Oh, I made a nudge about visiting the Mirror Marshes,” Penny smirked. “I think it is on the to-do list.”

Pia nodded. “We’re going to use a pony head for our charm on the bracelets. The Swinators are going to have their bows ready to hand out when the week starts and open a shop in the Moorland festival grounds. So, that’s not really on us. They’ll also be the turn in points for the bow hunt.”

“I think you need something more,” Lily said.

Pia bit her lip. “We have the dance club kind of sitting there being empty. I mean, you have to get to the clothing shop in through there now.”

“What did you do?” Lily widened her eyes.

Pia groaned. “Okay, so there were so many shops and carts cluttering things up. You haven’t been since?”

“Agnetha,” Pauline said and it explained everything.

“The gardener,” Lily tacked on.

Pia looked back and forth. “Ohkay,” she murmured. “Well, one of the beauty salons closed down. Not enough business, so their stylists all moved over to the one next to the dance floor with the café outside of it, Beauty on the Beach. Then next door to that, we put in a Tack shop, Mayor Peanut’s Sunshine Saddlery. And on the inside of the dance club, you can access the clothing shop, Disco Daze Fashions.”

“And that leaves you with what?”

“A clear courtyard with a fountain in the middle,” Pia said. “And a beach, but I’m not sure if the beach party guy is willing to come out early to set up a dance floor down there or not.”

“Okay, who else is there music wise in Jorvik that could play at Fort Pinta,” Lily said.

“Lisa,” one girl said.

“Missing,” Penny interrupted.

“Lisa’s _missing,_ ” another gasped.

“Okay, find Lisa,” Lily added to her list. “Um, who is Lisa?”

Penny lit up. “Lisa Peterson, she’s a country rock singer and guitar player.”

“She’s Jorvik homebrew,” Polly added. “Sort of.”

One girl made a face. “Well, there’s Raptor.”

“Oh good luck getting him out of Jorvik City.”

“The Miscreants?”

“Not really their type of venue, way too disco. They’re more rock.”

Lily drummed her fingers on the table.

“DJ Kai, I mean, she’s not huge, but she’s techno, the disco ball would be her jam and she needs the exposure,” another girl said.

“Isn’t Herman’s brother in the music business,” someone propped their chin on their hand.

“Okay, so,” Amelia made a face. “We’ve got this heavy metal style shop _and_ a hair salon in Jarlaheim. How about we host these Miscreants there?”

Lily was digging through her contacts. She found Herman’s brother’s number and dialed it. She relayed to him what was going on since he was the one who had their contracts with Black Light Records. “If you could be any help at all, Mr. Wetton.”

Lily gave the other girl’s a thumbs up. “Lance and Lilith you say, too? And The Flaming Trio? I’m sure the Baroness wants the Silversong String Quartet for the Manor. That would be so great. Syntax is moonlighting as a DJ? I have no idea who DJ Wetfloor is. There are 12 riding clubs and 12 venues Mr. Wetton. Your people along with JoJo Siwa makes 10 performers though I’m not sure all them fit the venues. That is 10 if someone knew where Lisa was. Do you have anyone who does folk music?”

Lily rolled her eyes at the girls. “Thanks, Mr. Wetton. You’ve been beyond helpful. It’s next week. I know it’s short notice and all. I’m sure you’ll find great talent.” She shut her phone off. “He wants to hold a talent show at one of the locations to scout for new people.”

“Do any of us really have the venue for that?” Melissa sounded baffled.

“Probably not,” Ingrid grimaced.

“But we can definitely put DJ Kai down for the Fort Pinta disco,” Lily said and Pauline scratched out a note.

“Art show,” Pia said. “We can do an art show, rainbow and friendship themed.”

“All right, that covers Fort Pinta then,” Lily said. “That sounds special enough. Okay, Summer Chipmunks, you’re up.”

“Okay, Daxton is going to be doing special rainbow teddy bears. Harold is the town baker and he’s trying to come up with a treat that’s suitably rainbow to have as a special. I think he’s going to do a cardamom rainbow sugar cookie. He was muttering about freezing dough and layering and cutting it into circles for least amount of waste. I think Lance actually _lives_ in Silverglade Village, if it’s the same Lance.”

“Are you okay then with taking them?”

“I swear,” Kate murmured. “Lilith runs Cool Cutz.”

“Maybe they’ll be southern rock and not embarrass you,” Lily smirked.

“We’ll take them,” Kate tucked hair behind her ears. “If they’re locals, I don’t want to piss them off or humiliate them by asking other people to step in. I mean, otherwise, we’re coordinating with Landon to do a rainbow sheep race. Catch the rainbow colored sheep? It’s one of his more feisty ones.”

Lily coughed. “Okay then.”

“We’ve decided on a rainbow charm with a cloud.” Kate gave Loretta a tiny glare. “I never heard your charm, Loretta?”

“Jojo Siwa’s bow,” Loretta sniffed.

“Duh,” Tan muttered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	27. Chapter 27

“Okay, Ingrid,” Lily moved on hurriedly. “Plans for Firgrove.”

“Andy is opening up his petting zoo at the sandpit. We have the Red String Ride. So, we’ve decided to use the Friendship Knot as our charm. We have a big field area with a hill. Perhaps, Mr. Wetton could set up his talent scouting show there? We can put out extra balloons and create a backdrop if necessary.”

Lily nodded. “Okay, I think that’s the best. People are going to want to come and see the new talent and I don’t know, we can advertise it as a picnic thing? Maybe have the fireworks and those paper lanterns nearby?”

Everyone agreed that sounded like a good plan.

Violet picked off where Ingrid left off. “We’re also opening the flea market in the village. We’re going to show them how to make big friendship knots. Big enough for wall art out of silky ropes. And Ma Anna’s doing an Italian Rainbow cookie, it looks more like a layered cake with chocolate to me. Andy’s grandmother is doing a rainbow pancake cake. So, that should be delicious. Actually, she’s doing two, one with a heart in the middle and one plain rainbow.” Violet shrugged.

Pia looked panicked. “Are we doing treats? Our cafe relies on Harold for treats.”

“Oh, I’m sure we can have him do something with what he’s got going already,” Kate jumped in to reassure her.

“As long as it’s not cardamom,” Pia shuddered.

“Got it,” Kate said. “I mean, he’s doing these freeze and bake things. There has to be a different way to do it. I’ll get right on him.”

Pia relaxed. “All right. Sorry Lily, moving on.”

Pauline nudged Lily, “better plan something for Moorland too,” she muttered.

Lily glowered at her. Pauline made a note.

They turned to Melissa.

Melissa made a face. “One, our waterfall is still green.”

“It’s your club color, pretend it’s deliberate for now,” Lily said.

Melissa grimaced. “Can you get the Baroness to come out and _look?_ ”

“We need to find the Count or Countess,” Riley huffed. “You can’t have a county without them!”

There were some scoffs around the table.

“We can’t make them care,” Lily said.

“If we can get enough attention out here that’s positive, they’ll start paying attention and be horrified that their area isn’t in tip top shape,” Amelia said.

“Or not,” Ingrid grimaced. “If we can get attention without their help, why would they need to do anything?”

“Okay, what do you want to do?” Lily asked.

“We have a lot of roses, so we were going to make rose crowns for our craft. We’ve got yellow.”

“Oh good, because we don’t,” Lily mumbled.

Brooke spoke up. “It’s tied into our treat, our baker is going to do funfetti cupcakes and pipe rainbow roses on them, like individual petals. She’s nuts!” She lifted her hands up in the air.

“We’re using the crossed arrows and a star for a charm,” Melissa said. “And we thought about doing a special orienteering race or trail in the forest. We’re decorating the lake trail and are going to advertise it as a ‘love trail.’ It would be better in a boat, but we’ve got what we’ve got. We have beach picnic areas if that helps at all.”

“We had that thought too about orienteering,” Sonja said. “Granted, Mistfall is very little but riding trails being it’s a designated Jorvik National Park.”

“I think some folk music would go over nicely, if there is any to be found.” Melissa shrugged. “Druids.”

Lily twisted to look at Luciana, “Okay, Dundull, what are your plans?”

“We are so far out of the way,” Sonja murmured.

“Get a ferry going to Dundull,” Lily murmured and added it to the list. This list was getting strange and very political.

“And New Hillcrest,” Ginny added. “I think that is a big part of our problem, it’s difficult to get to us.”

“Kit has her Cuddle Cottage, where you can come and cuddle the animals. She keeps foxes.”

“Because fox babies are called kits,” Lily murmured.

“You are the weirdest trove of information,” Pauline wrinkled her nose.

“Okay, I like crime procedurals and cozy mystery novels, is that a crime?”

“Nooo,” Pauline leaned away from her.

“I mean,” Luciana said. “We’re lots of pretty forest and a big lake.”

“No fishing. No swimming. No boats,” Sonja said.

“I don’t know what we can do,” Luciana bit her lip. “That’s not what everyone else is doing.”

Helen bounced in her seat. “You’re a National Park right? I mean, what do you do in National Parks?”

They all looked at her.

“You go camping. So, okay, you get one of the musicians that’s folk. You advertise that you’re doing a bonfire cook out. Do things on the hour. Have sausages on a stick and s’mores. You can decorate the forest on the way to and from the bonfire. Maybe do a night time ride around the lake when the lightning bugs are out. No one else is doing a night time thing other than fireworks.”

Lily’s phone buzzed. She picked it up. “Mr. Wetton. Really? I understand.” She reached over to Pauline’s notes and scratched out Raptor and DJ Wetfloor. “How does Firgrove for your talent show sound? They have a hill with a big field in front of it. That’s great. We need two,” she trailed off as Kelsey waved to get her attention and held up 3 fingers. “Three folk musicians.”

Kelsey wrote something down and held it up.

“If one is a Celtic group, that’d be great. The moors on South Hoof are big and can carry the sound beautifully. We also need someone for Valedale, and someone to serenade campers in Dundull at a sausage roast.”

Brooke leaned in. “There’s a broken down house in Valedale that if we clean it up, it’d be a great place for a musician.”

“A ruined house for a stage for Valedale, we can make it atmospheric,” Lily said. “You know just the people. A Harpist, really? You are amazing, Mr. Wetton.”

Riley spoke up. “We’ll take the Flaming Trio, since I’m sure New Hillcrest will want to host Syntax.”

Ginny relaxed. “Thanks, Riley.”

“Cape West will take the Flaming Trio. They’ll scout locations, though, I’m sure the Golden Hills Forest would be perfect. Syntax can appear in New Hillcrest, they’ve got the large market square after all. And then, Jarlaheim wants The Miscreants. There’s a theatre, one moment,” Lily put her hand over the phone. “Amelia, what in hell is Talia doing for Rainbow Week?”

“Hopefully not staging Romeo and Juliet,” Amelia flinched. “Her stage isn’t nearly big enough for the Miscreants. We have that town square and garden area. They can use that.”

“Point,” Lily said. “The Miscreants can perform in the Garden in Jarlaheim and DJ Kai can have the Fort Pinta Disco to herself. Do Lance and Lilith have a name? They can play in Silverglade where they’ll be centrally located. Lilith’s Lance? Really? Well, um, I didn’t know Lilith had a lance. Not relevant Mr. Wetton. That leaves us one short for the Stormgarden.”

Luciana waved her hand again. “Charity concert at the Dew’s Farm,” she said. “All proceeds going to help the Dew family. We’d be squatting.”

“And this is me not caring,” Lily said. “Have you heard about the plight of the Dew Family, Mr. Wetton? The G.E.D., you heard. You’re one of the corporate backers. We thought a charity concert. You think _Raptor_ would get out for _that._ Well, that is the power of good publicity.”

Mr. Wetton was talking.

“An Asian girl group idol pop band? That sounds perfect for the Stormgarden. Oh, that’s why, well, definitely the best for last then. Thank you.” Lily blinked and hung up. “So, Ami, you have a pop group called Filly, he spelled it f-i-l dash l-e, so I’m assuming it’s not only a pun on filly but a pun on French for girl as well.”

Ami groaned.

“But they can play at the Stormgarden.”

“We have a maple grove, we can set them up in there,” Ami nodded.

“Okay, so, Dundull is having a camp out and doing a night time ride around the lake,” Lily said.

“We have a lot of birds, so we were going to use a dove for our charm,” Luciana said. “I don’t know about treats.”

“No one is doing iced biscuits so far,” Pauline said. “Sorry, cookies.”

“Biscuits, are you British all of a sudden?” One of the girls demanded.

“No.” Pauline rolled her eyes. “It slipped out. Iced cookies.”

“Anyone?” Luciana looked around.

They all shook their heads.

Luciana nodded. “Then we’ll talk to our baker about doing iced sugar cookies.”

Sonja twisted her hair around her finger. “Braided headbands, with feathers? Face painting?”

“Those are great ideas,” Lily encouraged her.

Sonja relaxed.

Lily bit her lip. “Okay, we’re hosting the Silversong String Quartet and having a grand opening of the restaurant, ice cream bar, and the gardens. Aaron has designed a special friendship rainbow sherbet Sunday with a sugar cookie that has a rainbow heart in the middle and a white chocolate rose decoration. We’re doing our rose garden trail ride and at the pavilion in the middle, we’re setting up to make old fashioned bead headbands. We’re using a rose for our charm. Riley!”

Riley laughed. “All right, we’re hosting the Flaming Trio now. The Smugglers are helping us set up a treasure hunt where the reward is a crystal sun catcher. We’re going to have others for sale too. But the one for the treasure hunt is special. We’re also going to have supplies to make earrings out of jewelry crystal versions. Going with the crystal theme, we’re doing a rainbow layer gelatin dessert cut into shapes. Captain Brus is refusing to let us near his ship but he has conceded to decorate it. He hates Rainbow Week so I think his sailors bullied him into it. And we’re saving the Light Ride for Happy Horse Week.”

“Fair,” Lily nodded.

Pauline grimaced. “More than fair.”

“We’ve set up the treasure hunt all in that area though,” Riley smirked. “It goes from the Labyrinth area, all the way up towards the King’s Road using the stables as the middle ground. It goes with our charm of a coin with a heart cut out of it.”

“Oh, wow, sneaky,” one of the girls breathed. No one was sure if she meant the treasure hunt or the charm. No one dared ask either.

“We had to nix using cookie crumbs though. Too easily eaten by birds,” Riley rolled her eyes. “Really, right now we’re in the same boat as Ginny is, I think. We don’t have a lot to draw people to Cape West. There are a bunch of shops but none of them ever seem _busy._ ”

“Maybe it’s time for some consolidation,” Pia nodded.

“I think,” Riley leaned back and glanced at Ginny. “I don’t know if this is your problem, but, Cape West lacks a brand, a definitive identity.”

“So, if it was a jolly sailor town,” one of the girls trailed off.

“Right. I mean, the Stormgarden is doing an Asian themed Spa complete with oil pulling, hot stone massage, and chiming bowls or acupuncture and Chinese Fusion,” Riley waved her hands.

Ami grinned. “We are.”

“New Hillcrest is a ‘planned’ town,” Ginny rubbed her forehead. “Except no one seemed to include the stables in the plans. Again, like Cape West, we’re mostly _fishermen._ We’ve got the Mirror Marsh, a bunch of windswept islands, and the Cauldron. Both the observatory and Fort Maria are _closed._ Plus, Mrs. X has set up shop in the Observatory since it’s so close to G.E.D. and Old Hillcrest.”

“No news about Old Hillcrest then.”

“Whatever it is, it’s bad,” Ginny whispered. “We haven’t heard anything from them for weeks, and the G.E.D. keeps turning everyone away. There’s a _haze_ around the area.”

Brooke fiddled with a pen. “The G.E.D. has been drilling, right? I mean, that’s what Dark Core and G.E.D. have in common. They’ve been drilling. What if they drilled too deep?”

“Like, the Mines of Moira,” one of the girls said.

“I got that reference,” Luciana brightened.

“Okay, Mr. Kemball never had the proper permits for anything.” Lily glanced over at Ingrid.

“We’re looking into it, ja. We think he’s squatting.” Ingrid smirked. “He’ll be gone before the festival.”

“Ms. Drake seems the type to cross her ts and dot her eyes,” Amelia said.

“Are you sure? Or does she come off that way so you don’t ask questions,” Lily lowered her voice. “You can’t have Herman dig into it. He’ll go off half-cocked. Syntax and this secret organization of his.”

“CHILL,” Susan said. “It’s called CHILL.” She rolled her eyes.

“Theirs,” Ginny corrected absently. “They’re non-binary.”

“Theirs,” Lily corrected herself. “Thank you, Ginny. They’re a hacker, right? Have them look into it? Or have them do it. Give them a challenge. Or say we’ll find someone else if they can’t be useful.”

“Ricky is still pretty hung up on getting enough money to save the stables from his boxing match.”

“I wouldn’t rely on it.”

Ginny licked her lips. “My family is moving to Beauvista soon. I’m leaving Susan in charge.”

“I’m sorry, Ginny. It must hurt to leave the club.”

Ginny shrugged. “I’ll be here past Happy Horse Week. I can help by befriending Mr. Kemball’s daughter too.”

“I’ll make sure the club stays together,” Susan said fervently.

“I believe you, Su,” Ginny smiled at her.

Susan nodded. “I think Riley’s right though. The stable doesn’t have its own identity. The town is so bland. It’s not like Crescent Moon Village or anything where we could at least take advantage of the imagery.”

“Hold up,” Josefina said, she was Amelia’s vice president. “Friesians _are_ an identity. That’s what your main sell stable has, right? Those are exclusive horses. You have to have a license to even breed them. Like Frederick the Great has been dubbed the world’s handsomest horse. And like, if you have any chestnuts, those are super rare. They’re dressage horses.”

“We don’t have,” Ginny trailed off.

Josefina smirked. “You just thought of something.”

“Mr. Kemball wants to buy his daughter’s way into the club. He could _build_ us an arena,” Ginny smirked back.

“People love seeing Friesians as a group in herds and the babies,” Josefina bit her lip. “Start a J-Tube channel, get on Friend-Fund, and offer early exclusive content for people who sign up.”

Riley sighed. “And we stick with our jolly sailor town?”

“That isn’t a half bad identity, you know,” Amelia raised her brow. “Though your colors are wrong.”

“You took the navy,” Riley retorted. “And do you know how fond they are of being ‘golden.’ There’s no way that we’re getting a cool color when that’s their take on it. And Kate has yellow! As does Pia!”

“Girls,” Lily broke in. They were getting a bit off track.

“Actually, a sailor town isn’t a bad idea. We can go with the pirate theme and,” Riley drummed her fingers on the table. “The issue being not appropriating other cultures.”

“Canterella then?” Luciana asked. “It’s old fashioned.”

“But at the same time, perfect?” Riley grinned. “I don’t know what Anastasia has in mind for our new outfits.”

“Well, a Canterella outfit would be a costume and extra, I think,” Lily said. “Is that the stuff at the Purple Pony?”

“Along with the Knights of Unistria and some Mermaid stuff.”

“Ohh, mermaids,” Riley said. “This, oh, idea,” she grinned and scribbled something down. “Okay, but yeah, we think the treasure hunt should take enough time that we don’t need much more than that for our area.”

Sonja muttered. “If we could get to Firfall they have a Medieval Faire with an archery competition.”

“The road’s blocked,” Luciana said.

“I’m thinking some moltov cocktails,” Sonja rubbed her hands.

Everyone glared at her.

“Oh fine,” Sonja slumped.

“Amelia, over to Jorvik Stables,” Lily said.

“Okay, so, um, no one is very worried about Evelyn, outside of Jill and us. Jack is useless. There are a ton of shops empty, but the shops there aren’t that amazing either and should be combined. Though the two hair salons can’t be. There’s two themes. Eventing style elegance, and the rock star stuff.” Amelia shrugged. “It’s a town so it’s big enough for both. For the event, we’re running a special group race. And in the arena we’re having a special show jumping race. Lowe Westburg runs both of them. She gives out prizes. Catherine is doing her special cake. And the Miscreants are playing in the garden.” She pronounced Lowe as Lou-ve.

“Have you talked to Herman about the Riding Arena yet?”

“He refuses to open it. Absolutely refuses,” Amelia rolled her eyes.

Josefina huffed. “We told him we’ll keep the doors open and not go in at night.”

“We’re using a pair of swans that make a heart for our charm,” Amelia shrugged.

“It seemed obvious,” Josefina smirked.

“Is that enough for that area, you think?”

“Two races, on top of everything else you can do during the week?” Lily widened her eyes.

“What about wrist cuffs?” Violet, Ingrid’s Vice President in Firgrove, asked.

“Wrist cuffs?”

“For a craft,” Violet defended. “Look, okay you say you’ve got two looks, elegant and rock. Elegant is pretty covered by the Winery, who should probably also be doing bead bracelets and stud and dangling earrings.”

“Noted,” Pauline said with a grin.

“Then, that leaves you with the rock stuff. Bandanas aren’t really a craft thing. So, that leaves leather wrist cuffs and chokers and headbands. Do a leather Siwa bow. Have some awesome looking heart and rose and the other symbols as metal studs and don’t they come in all colors now with electroplating? Then what you do is take your shops, get them down to four between the tack shops and the clothing shops. Then _beg_ the Miscreants to set up a shop there for their swag, or do a combined band swag shop.”

The girls were all nodding.

“Don’t you have that donut shop too, with Lisbeth,” Ginny said, her eyes glazing over. “I love her donuts. She could do tons of rainbow ones.”

“Okay, I think that’s covered then,” Lily said. “Onward to you, Ami.”

“We’re like you, doing our grand opening.”

“Pretty hanfu inspired dresses and Chinese Fusion,” Lily said remembering Anastasia’s complaints.

There were giggles.

Ami tilted her head. “We’re using a frog for our symbol. It’s a Chinese animal for good fortune, and the kanji for friend. We though to do some origami for our crafts. Origami earrings and stuff you can add to headbands.”

“Right, and you have the pop group.”

“The bottom of the Cauldron can be pretty, so we thought we’d do a ride to the bottom, have something there and lead them back up. We aren’t sure on what yet.”

“Make it surprise.”

“Tea ceremony,” said someone else.

“Is that okay?” Ami looked over at Ginny.

“The best way down into the Cauldron is closer to you than it is to us. We’ve got a ride planned through the Mirror Marsh.”

“Bring lots of bug repellant.”

“And maybe Frida will show up with her frogs,” Ginny added.

“We’re also giving away rainbow themed fortune cookies,” Ami waved her hands. “Because, fortunes!”

The girls all laughed. Even Loretta cracked a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	28. Chapter 28

Ginny sighed. “I feel like I’ve monopolized this meeting.”

“You haven’t,” Pauline reassured her.

“Well, you know most of what we’re doing already then, the ride through the Mirror Marsh. Syntax is playing in the town square. We’re using a heart that’s made of holding hands for our charm to represent how we’re working together to save our stable. I wouldn’t trust Jamie Olivetree to cook or bake anything. So, I’m a bit at a loss for that. But I had an idea for a craft. We can do rainbow window decorations. They look like stain glass, but it’s all plastic and markers and glue mixed with paint. Or they can make the kite paper ones, which is kite paper, cardboard and glue, easy peasy.”

“Those sound great.”

“We can choose some other shapes, but really great for the younger members.” Ginny grinned.

“Right,” Lily nodded. “We need to cater to them too other than making them hyped up on sugar.”

“Oh god, do we have so much sugar on this list,” Pauline groaned. “Ladies, we better string this out.”

There was more laughter.

“Okay, so, bear with me,” One of the girls said. “Since you don’t trust Jaime to bake. I went to this other summer camp last year, and it was a sleep away camp where you took different skill classes and had dinner in the dining hall.”

“Why can’t we do that here?” One of the girls asked.

“But they had this one dessert that was essentially rainbow marshmallows and chocolate. They took the marshmallows, mixed them with chocolate that wasn’t hot enough to melt them, and then shaped it in like a yule log or put it into aluminum foil boxes with parchment paper and added _more_ chocolate until it was full. Then they cut them into slices. They called them stainglass windows. So, not only do you have something that goes with your craft, you don’t have to have Jaime do _anything._ ”

Ginny groaned. “I could _kiss_ you. Yes. We’ll take it.”

“Okay, that leave us, I guess,” Kelsey said. “We’re using the Celtic Infinity Knot for our symbol.”

“Mr. Wetton has found you a Celtic Group.”

“We’ll have them perform out by the spooky big tree,” Kelsey said. “Now, Madison had an idea, and it’s a _good_ one to run with the Welshies as part of our event.”

“Well, that’s really cool, actually.” Penny said.

“And, we have a huge beach thing, it goes from the Hermit’s house, all the way over to the other side of the Peninsula that goes up near the tree.” Kelsey rubbed her forehead. “So, we thought, a race? We can make it a group race like the Jorvik Stable’s race.”

They all nodded.

“That’s fair,” Josefina said.

“We should have more than _one_ group race,” Pauline made a note of it.

“And we’re doing these rainbow swirl cookies that look like lollipops, rainbow cotton candy, rainbow churros, and rainbow shaved ice with ice cream in the middle.”

Madison is taking this seriously,” Cathy said, her voice very dry.

“Of course she is,” Ingrid said with a smile. “She’s young.”

“We haven’t talked anyone into the Highland Cattle yet. But I think we’re getting there.” Kelsey said. “Not that anyone is really going to listen to us until something horrible happens. I mean, we helped them with their shipwreck but that got us trust and a spot on the peninsula, nothing more.”

“Craft,” Cathy glowered at her.

“Oh right, the craft.”

“We’re going to have Seashells you can paint,” Cathy said. “It’s been keeping everyone busy and with us on the beach, Mr. Anwir refuses to come close.”

“So, we’re going to have sharpies and rubbing alcohol for the kids, some puffy paint for the intermediate painters, and alcohol inks for the experts.” Kelsey grinned. “They can turn them into necklaces, bracelets, earrings, headbands, whatever makes them happy.”

Cathy jumped in. “Hugh is happy to have people come and give tours of the Rescue Ranch.”

“Oh thank goodness, we don’t want to bother him too much.”

“He thinks it’s great publicity.”

Pauline shifted in her chair. “Okay, I have one last idea. I know it’s not Happy Horse Week but it will be a taste of it.”

Lily raised a brow at her.

“Every one of us has a paddock. New Hillcrest can borrow the Dew Farm in Epona’s if necessary,” Pauline said. “I think we should have a special event in the paddocks specifically for the horses, and only the horses of our stables. It can be a show jumping event or a dressage event or a show type of event where they jog their horses around to show them off.”

“Oh, Pony flag race!” Polly piped up. “I’ve been wanting to do one of those and with the bunting for the day this would be perfect. Have seven flags in each color and they have to go and get them and come back one at a time.”

“Tedious but give enough experience or one of Lowe’s exchanges, they’ll do it.”

“Or lots of experience and an exchange item,” Amelia said. “This is a good idea. I like it, oui.”

Loretta grimaced at her phone. “What is taking them so long?”

“What is taking _us_ so long?” Pauline rubbed her forehead and checked her notes.

Lily texted Regina. “Ohkay, they’re arguing in the store. Just send us some options. Yeesh.”

Phones buzzed as Regina threw them all into a group chat and uploaded pictures.

“Okay those half circle buntings we need for the races.”

“Same for the triangle ones that are the stripes, not the solids. We’ve got solids already,” Kate said.

“We should have the solid ones for the pony race,” Penny added as she texted that into the chat.

“All right, I’m seeing 2 foil balloons here.”

“Why not make the fuzzy ombre ones for the parade route and Moorland’s festival space, they’ll go with the bows and the ombre sequin bunting swags there,” Pia said. “And then the hard stripe ones for everywhere else.”

“You’re the only one who has seen these bows.” Lily reminded her.

Pia dug into her phone and uploaded a picture into the group chat.

“Ah, yes, agreed,” Pauline said as she added it to the list. “The arches need something more than ivy.”

“Streamers, these ones here have some great circle paillettes with them, tres chic,” Josefina double tapped it. “Mix it in with the ivy, it won’t be as noticeable or bright.”

“And might make the inside more of a rainbow as the sun goes through it.”

“I hope we don’t have rain,” one of the girls groaned.

“Oh, we can use the clouds with the dangling rainbow hearts to hang from the trees,” Ami brightened. “That would be pretty. They’re plastic, so reusable even if it does rain.”

“And the heart shaped garland for the stable fronts, and inside too.”

Josefina shuddered. “This could get so tacky very quickly.”

“Okay, then what about those big hearts in the solid colors that are studded with pearls? I think those are pearls.”

“They can go on building doors and along fences.”

They nixed some of the other options including a long fabric rainbow bunting and hearts that were rainbow from the inside out. They were hard on the eyes.

“And, that’s, that’s actually kind of nice,” Loretta said grudgingly of the backdrop. They’d done it up in Bobcat colors with a light pink curtains right behind a white circle that had yellow roses on the upper right and pink heart shaped crystal beads draped across it. To either side of the light pink curtains were darker more Bobcat pink curtains.

In the chat, someone use a confetti trumpet emoji. There were hearts and happy faces.

Lastly, they sent a display of cloud lanterns they could put inside the stables and covered areas. They had LED Lights hanging down. They could get them in rainbow colors. Or one of the girl’s noted, they could do the hearts like the smaller plastic clouds they thought would be good in the trees.

“Okay, I know everyone has a _big_ cache of the LED lanterns with the heart cut outs, so might as well use them.”

“No candles.”

“Not unless they’re LED candles.”

They all looked at each other. “Yeah, no,” one said.

“We need a piñata,” someone murmured.

“Where? Fort Pinta?”

“If Madison finds out,” Kelsey warned.

“Let’s do a bunch in Fort Pinta for the kids there, we have to vary this up!”

“Between Mr. Peanut posing for photos, Isebell Figg doing street magic, and Pinatas it will be something of a carnival.” Pia said with a smile.

“Which is exactly what Madison wants,” Kelsey groaned. She rubbed her face.

They all looked at each other and shrugged.

“Jugglers, fire eaters.”

“Yeah, we’re getting into circus stuff now,” Lily said.

“Don’t tell Ydris,” someone muttered.

“Don’t tell Madison about Ydris. He’d turn her into a monkey in a tutu so fast,” Lily said.

They all giggled at that image.

Loretta and Tan swallowed hard. The other girls didn’t actually mean to dig, but they felt it like a dig at them.

“I don’t think that would be good around the horses anyways, fire eaters and jugglers.”

“Definitely not.”

“You have a huge moor to take up,” Lily said with a shrug.

Kelsey shook her head. “I think we’ve bitten off enough.”

Pauline shoved the list over to Lily. It’d been written across a map of the area.

“I agree,” Lily said after she read it over. “Okay, honestly, this calls for celebratory food.”

“I’ll go order some pizza.”

“You know, Courtney doesn’t make half bad chicken wings and those double baked potatoes.”

“Just,” Lily pushed it away and put her head in her arms.

“Ice cream,” Pauline patted her head. “Definitely ice cream.”

A couple of them laughed and ran out to order food. When the phones buzzed, the rest left leaving Loretta and Lily alone.

Loretta fidgeted. “How long are you going to treat me with so much disrespect?”

Lily looked up and straightened. Her brows rose noticing everyone else was missing, including Tan. “The thing about respect. You have to earn it.”

Loretta pursed her lips.

“You and your girls treated us like dirt and expected us to do all the hard labor.”

“You were trying out for the Club. It’s expected.”

Lily rolled her eyes. “Loretta, everything around you is for beginners. It’s not that difficult. You didn’t treat us with respect. So, we left. If you want to be friends, be friendly.”

Loretta wasn’t the type to slump in her seat.

“You going to treat Jojo Siwa like the rest of us or am I going to have to assign an ambassador?”

“No. She’s _somebody._ _”_

Lily leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “Oh, where do I start with that one?”

Loretta huffed. “You’re all nobody.”

“You don’t _know that,_ ” Lily dropped her chin back down to meet Loretta’s eyes. “You have no idea who anyone of us could be. We could be as rich as Anne Von… whatever her name is or royalty or anything because we don’t tell you.”

Loretta scoffed. “If any of you were rich and famous, I’d know.”

“There are a lot of rich people who aren’t famous and don’t want to be,” Lilly rubbed the back of her neck. “Treating everyone the same is really, the only way to go about it. You can’t make snap judgement, especially when Thomas is handing everyone the same uniform the first day.”

Loretta rolled her eyes.

“To us, you’re nobody,” Lily said bluntly. “The mean girl with the crush on her employer’s son.”

Loretta stiffened and glared at her.

Lily shrugged a shoulder. “Calling it like I see it, Lori.”

“I was here first.”

“And you’re a backwater club, at a backwater summer camp, where you can lord your _superior_ riding skills over campers with none at all,” Lily raised her brows. “I don’t think anyone else would put up with you and your airs.”

Loretta tensed.

The door opened and the others came back with food.

Lily didn’t know what it was going to take to get through to the other girl. They just needed this Rainbow Week to go well and for Loretta to try not and take all the credit.

* * *

There were piles and piles of boxes in the courtyard of the Silverglade Equestrian Center. “The Siwanators bogged us down with tons of bows. They’ve been busy. Like a two person assembly line,” Regina said. “Productive meeting?”

Lily sat on the boxes. “Outside of Loretta, yeah.”

“What did she do now?”

“She wants respect.” Lily shrugged.

Linn jogged over. She leaned over putting her hands on her knees. “So, the Baroness wants to see us at the Riding Arena.”

Lily met Regina’s eyes. “No more long meetings.”

They mounted their horses and trotted down to the Riding Arena. Baroness Silverglade stood out of the way in the show jumping side of the arena. The slightest twist of her lips could convey a multitude of emotions.

Right now they were slightly turned downward. Slightly pursed. The Baroness wasn’t pleased.

Lily approached with caution. “Baroness Silverglade,” she said.

“Tell me, Lily, will this do for the fine upstanding reputation of the Silverglade family?” She gestured at the arena.

Lily glanced around at the showjumping arena. “Not when we have distinguished visitors coming,” she said it quite carefully.

The Baroness met her eyes and walked serenely out of the Arena.

Lily braced her elbow on one hand and cupped her face. Her lips pressed together and she restrained several screams by making exaggerated faces.

“Well,” Regina said. “Well.”

Lily spun on her toe and marched to the other side of the Arena. While, the huge space didn’t have jumps set up in it, it was being used by a group of dressage riders as they practiced their formations.

Lily worked her jaw licking her lips, her mouth opening and shutting.

“I see an underutilized space,” Regina said.

“We need a schedule,” Pauline said.

Lily gestured at her. It was a clear ‘get it done’ type of hand wave.

Regina put her arm around Lily. “Okay, I think you need a break. You’re taking far too much responsibility on yourself.”

“A nap,” Linn said. “Go ahead and take a nap, Lily. When you wake up, we’ll have a schedule arranged to get everything done before Rainbow Week.”

Lily looked between them and cracked. “Are you two sure?”

“Yes, we’re sure,” Pauline said. “All _three_ of us. Delegation will get things done faster.”

Lily hugged each other mumbling thank yous. She jogged off and took the trailer back to the stable, even though it really wasn’t that far away.

Regina, Pauline, and Linn looked at each other.

“Let’s do this thing,” Pauline said firmly.

Linn pulled out her phone.

“We’re going to either have to kick everyone out, or clean at night,” Regina said looking around. “Wow, you just don’t think about how many people are wandering about all the time.”

“Linda thinks we should meet in the library,” Linn reported.

“This is one meeting right after another,” Pauline shook her head.

They rode through the gardens back up the main house marveling at the amount of work they’d actually gotten done. The manor was well on its way to being spectacular. The workman of the tunnel waved at them as they threaded through the trees to go up the road for a bit.

They put their horses in the stalls and gave Lily’s an extra pat or two as they passed.

Linda, Agnetha, and the rest of the club met them in the library.

Pauline sat at the head of the table and heaved a huge sigh. “Right. So, the Baroness has just shoved the refurbishment of the Riding Arena into our laps. We need a plan on how to tackle this so everything gets done in time for the Rainbow Festival.”

Linda adjusted her glasses. “Girls, we have done a prodigious amount of work over the last month in order to make this place remotely presentable. I can talk to the Baroness about putting off the Riding Arena until after the Rainbow Festival.”

“We have a week,” Regina said. “I think if we have a structured _plan_ in place, break things up into groups like we did in the beginning, we can get everything done. It’s Lily is taking a lot of this personally.”

“She’s got all the emotional labor problems too,” Abigail leaned in propped her chin on her hands. “That’s as much work as physical labor.”

“And we’ve all been focusing on the garden since we’ve got contractors doing the work for the Ice Cream bar and the tunnel. Aaron and Anastasia are focused on getting people _hired._ So, maybe we gave a false impression of how much we can actually do in a set amount of time.” Pauline winced. “Which is on us.”

“Right. This is vacation and you’re working as hard as you would in school,” Linda protested. “You’re supposed to be here to have fun and meet everyone in the county and ride through the races to train your new horses.”

“Right, we have to make them worth 75,000 shillings somehow.” Regina said flippantly.

Agnetha frowned. “Linda’s correct. Annabella and I have been taking dreadful advantage of you girls.”

“We volunteered,” Pauline pointed out.

Brittany nodded. “Something _weird_ is going on here in South New Jorvik County. We don’t know what it is, neglect, the G.E.D., Dark Core interference, whatever it is, but something fishy is going on here. I mean, is the place just poor or what?”

Linda grimaced. “I’m not really from around here either. Alex Cloudmill hails from Jorvik City, so she doesn’t know either.”

Agnetha shrugged. She didn’t know either.

“Well, let’s work on what we can control,” Regina said pushing the worries about G.E.D. and Dark Core aside to work with another day.

“We need to finish the Folly Gardens,” Pauline said.

“Set up the event Pavilion. Clean up and plant gardens around the Pavilion and the Riding Arena. Install Lighting, benches and urn features.”

“Install the last Duck Coop behind the Arena.”

“Clean the Arena. Replace the Jumps in the Show Jumping side.” Linn said. “They’re old and they don’t fit the theme anymore.”

“Clean the tunnel once the workers are finished.”

“Clean and install furniture in the Wine Cellar. Decorate the Wine Cellar.”

“Decorate for Rainbow Week,” Regina said.

“And that has to be enough for now,” Linda said.

“We should get some of those window sun catchers and decorations from Riley and Ginny for the Arena,” Pauline muttered.

“Since we have the _only_ arena.”

“Oh, well,” Pauline’s eyes lit up. “Ginny and Susan are going to try and convince Mr. Kemball to _build_ them an arena.”

They all stared at each other for a moment, huffed, and burst into _giggles._

“Linda,” Linn started with a quiver to her voice, “Can we shut down the Riding Arena to fix it? We can put it off until the last two days if we must, since I’m sure we’re going to want a full day to decorate right before Rainbow Week begins.”

“I mean, this isn’t Christmas where we decorate two months in advance,” Stacy said offhandedly.

Linda smiled softly. “I’ll make a sign that it will be closed those days for cleaning and refurbishing.”

“Thank you!” Linn slumped.

“Okay,” Pauline said as she fiddled with the schedule. “We’ve got seven days or whatever. Tomorrow we can do a huge push to finish the last terrace. Day two, clean up the Pavilion and Riding Arena space, install lighting, benches, duck coop, and the urns. Day Three: Set up the Pavilion, plant the gardens. Day Four, Clean up the tunnel and do the Wine Cellar. Day Five, whatever isn’t done. Day Six, Riding Arena Clean Up and Refurbishment. Day Seven: Decorate.”

Linda nodded. “That sounds reasonable.”

“And you’ve got yourselves a slush day.”

“Then we take the week off to ride all around the county and have _fun,_ ” Regina said firmly.

“Get sick on cotton candy at South Hoof,” Pauline mused. “Do a treasure hunt in Cape West.” Pauline blinked. “Oh right,” she found a paper and slid it over to Linda. “Our schedule of events things to do if you want to put it up online.”

Linda brightened. “That will be great. We can have so many visitors. Get your friends to send me pictures for Jorvikgram. I’ll get this up on the website. You know, I don’t think there’s an actual county website for events.”

“Then there should be,” Stacy said.

“And if you build it, you need to get paid for it,” Regina added on.

“And by the good and fluffly lord, do _not_ let Aaron moderate it,” Pauline rolled her eyes.

“Or Anastasia,” one of the girls said under her breath.

“Now,” Agnetha glared at them. “The rest of you go join Lily and get some rest. Everything will keep until tomorrow.”

“Don’t work you and Bjorn to death without us!” One of the girl’s admonished her.

Agnetha gave her a tiny smile.

It was weird, but somehow through working together, Agnetha had become like their prickly aunt.

Linda poked at her phone. She never noticed the rest of them leave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	29. Chapter 29

Things were going quite well in everyone’s opinion. The Baroness had been informed of the schedule and had informed them in return she’d ordered new jumps for the track. Or at least, some of them were new jumps. Others were things she expected Agnetha to put together not so quite on the fly.

Mellissa found them setting up a fancy rented pavilion. It was a process eerily similar to putting up the Circus tent, without Ydris ‘helpful’ magic interruptions. They were tugging ropes into place and making sure everything was tight and the knots were set properly.

Lily waved at her fellow President. Jogging over, she tugged off her gloves.

Melissa looked around. “I don’t dare ask what it looked like before.”

“I’m not sure pictures did it justice,” Lily tucked her gloves away.

Melissa shifted on her feet uncomfortably and then reached into her horse’s saddlebag. “We found these while cleaning out the old summer house. I guess it used to belong to the Councilman in Silverglade.”

“How can you have a Council with only one person?” Lily asked idly as she flipped through the papers. They looked like old records. “I’m sure Linda will love to look through these.”

“But um,” Melissa stopped Lily at a photograph. “I’ve seen this guy on the Moorland South Beach talking to the Dark Core people.”

“Is that?” Lily’s brow furrowed. The blonde woman in the white dress looked familiar. Or Lily assumed blonde, since the photograph was in black and white. “Yeah. We better talk to Linda.”

Lily mounted her horse and they trotted off up the long hill back towards the Manor. Lily chatted a bit about what they were doing to clean things up. She gestured at Grape Mountain. “Not that we have anything to do with that at all.”

Melissa laughed. “I feel now like we’ve got it easy up in Valedale. It’s just, no one really _goes_ there, you know.”

“I bet the druids like it that way.”

“It lets them do whatever they like. Elizabeth Sunbeam isn’t a bad person. She’s just, if you aren’t one of her people, you aren’t very useful to her.”

Lily shrugged. “I’m not really a fan of those types of people myself.”

“I told Avalon that if he wanted to drug people to get them to leave, he could go himself. It was like I offended him or something.”

“Easy to have someone else do your dirty work, especially a teenage girl.”

They found Linda in the stables rummaging up in the loft through the boxes. “All the lanterns are up here. I think.” She scratched her head. “I found silver tinsel and glass Christmas bulbs.”

“Well, Melissa found this in the ruined house in the Hollow Woods. We thought you might find it interesting.” Lily held out the sheaf of papers.

Linda sat down on a box.

Lily looked around. “What a weird place to store things. It gets really hot up here. Stuff could shatter.”

Linda shrugged and used her pen to scratch at her head. She leafed through the papers and flipped through the old book. The photograph slipped into her lap. Linda picked it up and turned grey.

“Linda!” Lily exclaimed. “How long have you been up here? It’s way too hot.” Grabbing the papers, she ushered Linda downstairs and back to the cool of the library. She bothered one of the servers of the restaurant to get them cool drinks.

Once they had glasses with water beading on the side of them, Lily put a hand on Linda’s arm. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s Mr. Sands,” Linda pointed at the photograph. It had to be a wedding photograph.

“What about him?”

“I, I, went up against him last year in Pine Hills. And, this picture is old, and he hasn’t changed a bit! And that, that’s,” Linda’s eyes were wide behind her glasses. “That’s Baroness Silverglade,” she whispered hoarsely. “That’s a wedding picture. It has to be.”

“I saw him right before we left for Valedale. He creeped me out. Like he was spying on the Moorlands or something. He looked exactly the same.”

Lily used her phone to take a copy of the picture. She sent it to all of the presidents with a question of if they’d seen him.

Linda found a picture of Annabella in the library and was comparing the two pictures. “It is her!”

Lily waited.

Kelsey, Pia, and Kate had all seen him. Kelsey texted that this guy had a meeting with Mr. Anwir. And that the Hermit, who was older, had been terrified. He’d known Mr. Anwir when he was younger and Mr. Anwir looked exactly the same.

Kate had seen Mr. Sands in Silverglade Village. She sent a picture. She thought he’d been odd in his trench coat.

Melissa looked through the papers. “A marriage certificate, one Annabella to Mr. John Sandman.”

“That sounds made up. Like John Smith,” Lily said. “But she married him!”

Linda came back to the table. “I don’t get it.”

Melissa bit her lip. “What are we going to do? I mean, she obviously married Baron Silverglade later and had kids with him. This really doesn’t have anything to do with us.”

“It might and it might not,” Linda said. “But I need to talk to her.”

“Not alone, you aren’t,” Lily glared at her. “The Baroness is a powerful person, Linda. You aren’t going to do this alone and anything could happen.”

“You make her sound ruthless.”

“She is ruthless,” Lily said. “You don’t up and accuse a noble woman of nefarious deeds on her own turf.”

“Indeed,” Godfrey said from behind him. “You do not.”

Lily jumped. “Godfrey, don’t do that! You’re the butler in the library with the candlestick!”

“Isn’t he really Tim Curry?” Melissa asked.

Godfrey waited without a turning a single hair or changing his expression.

“Godfrey, we need to talk to the Baroness,” Lily said.

“I’m sorry. I found some information that could be relevant to her,” Melissa twisted her hands. “It wasn’t my intention. I thought they might be historically relevant. Not, today relevant.”

“I’ll see if she’s available,” Godfrey nodded.

“Someplace indoors,” Lily said in a rush. “So, there are no prying ears.”

Godfrey turned his head slightly and nodded again. He departed the library.

“Oh god, oh god, oh god,” Linda heaved out.

Godfrey returned. “She is curious and wishes to see you immediately in her office.”

Melissa gathered all the papers. They followed him to a spacious and airy office where the Baroness sat like a queen behind a broad desk.

The girls sat in the chairs across from her.

Melissa cleared her throat. “I’m not sure if you’re aware, Baroness Silverglade, that the Council of Silverglade Village had moved important records to their Council summerhouse in the Hollow Woods.”

“I wasn’t,” the Baroness said. “That seems rather careless of them.”

“We were cleaning it up in order to make it presentable as a show space for next week’s Rainbow Week and a lot of the records were too water stained to make out. We, er, tossed them in a bonfire. But we found some that weren’t.” Melissa handed them over. “And as they pertained to the Silverglades, I brought them to Lily because she could get them to you.”

The Baroness read through them, as she did, her went more and more still.

“You were married to him,” Linda said. “Mr. Sands.”

The Baroness turned white.

Lily spoke up. “Baroness, it is better that we know rather than leaving us to mindlessly speculate. What happened? And who exactly is Mr. Sands and Dark Core?”

“I never wanted this to come out,” the Baroness’ voice was nothing but a whisper.

“It’s not _out,_ ” Melissa said. “It is, thus far, completely contained to us in this room.”

Linda clenched the ends of the arm of her chair. “Baroness, if you want us to be able to do anything about him, then you _have_ to give us the proper information. We can’t move forward without it.”

The Baroness regained her composure as she flicked a glance at Linda down her nose. “Your little Soul Rider group and the druids. Tell me, Moon Rider, exactly how effective have they been against him of late. You and yours made inroads a year ago and now two of you are missing and what exactly are the druids telling you to do.”

Linda sucked her cheeks in and trembled in her chair. “We have to trust them.”

The Baroness put her elbows on the arms of her chair and folded her hands. “Since when have they given you a reason to trust them? What have they actually done for you, Linda Chanda, since you defeated Mr. Sands in Pine Hill a year ago?”

Linda flushed.

“That’s why you’re here working for me, digging in my family library, is it not?”

Linda hung her head.

Lily bit her lip and looked over. “You’re one of the druids.”

Linda pushed her glasses up her nose. “Not really. We’re, we’re what they call Soul Riders. I don’t think I can explain it.”

“Was it ever explained properly to you,” the Baroness said. Her brow rose.

Linda licked her lips. “No. I don’t believe so.” She glanced at the others.

Lily clasped her hands in front of her chest. “Okay. You know what? I don’t care about the druids. They’d have to do a real hard sell for me to want to be part of them and, I don’t know what you have for religion around here. But, we’ve got Dark Core sitting on Moorland South Beach. Two guys that haven’t changed a bit in the last 50 years it looks like, one who you were married to for a time, and they’re trying to steal horses. Who knows where they’ve actually succeeded. Or what else they’re doing. Or if they’re in league with G.E.D.”

“He wasn’t named Mr. Sands back then,” the Baroness said with a sigh. “He was Mr. Sandman if you please, and he wooed me. I was a foolish girl and much in love. I don’t know precisely what he wanted. Whatever it was, when it didn’t show up in me, he quickly lost interest in me, and our son.”

“You had a child,” Linda croaked. “With, Mr. Sands.”

Annabella flushed slightly. “So, I divorced him. Buried the entire affair with money. I returned to my maiden name and later met and married Baron Silverglade. I’d hoped it would be enough to keep John away. If I didn’t have what he wanted, and he was grossly disappointed that Thomas was a boy and not a girl, then Thomas couldn’t either. Thomas met Catherine when they grew up, Jasper Holbrook’s daughter. And I knew she’d been part of the druids and left them. Thomas was so happy.”

“Thomas Moorland,” Linda slid down into her chair. “Oh good heavens.”

“Do Aaron and Anastasia know?” Lily asked.

“They do. I’d never keep such a thing from my children. They have nothing to do with each other. I surreptitiously support Thomas when I can. We all must be prepared if anything came out to stand together.” The Baroness said it firmly and with conviction. “It could be quite a scandal among the noble families. No one wanted me to marry the Baron. I was a commoner, a landed commoner, but still, a commoner.”

“But Aaron and Anastasia aren’t married or have children,” Lily said slowly. “That makes Justin your heir.” It was only through marriage, true, but until Aaron or Anastasia had children, Justin could get it all. Unless Franz Klaus or the like from Silver Fork came and tried to make a counter claim due to closer blood.

They all stared at each other, the silence heavy and thick.

“Does Justin know?” Lily broke it.

“No,” the Baroness said. “I left it to Thomas to tell him and as far as I’m aware, Thomas hasn’t.”

“What circle was your family?” Linda asked.

The Baroness pursed her lips together. “Moon, like the Silverglades. Anastasia doesn’t have an ounce of the gift either.”

“What was Catherine?”

“I don’t know,” Linda said sounding confused. “I mean, she died when Justin was a toddler. I think.”

“That tracks with what Justin and Jasper told us,” Lily said.

“I doubt Elizabeth would tell you,” the Baroness observed. “They do like to keep their information close to their chest.”

“But why do they want horses?” Lily asked. “I don’t get it.”

“They’re short a Dark Rider,” Linda said. “Without another Rider, and with two of ours missing, we’re rather at an impasse. Maybe they think they can force one.”

“Riders? Dark Riders? Does that have anything to do with the ghostly rider we chased around Moorland for that stupid land deed?” Lily burst out.

Linda paled. “You’ve seen a Dark Rider.”

“Flaming trails of horse hoofs? Fades away like they don’t exist.”

“That must be the one that’s the equivalent of the Sun Circle, fading into Pandoria,” Linda said.

The Baroness cleared her throat.

Linda flushed. “Right. I shouldn’t be saying anything about this without permission from Elizabeth.”

“Is that why you won’t oust him from your land?” Lily asked. “You don’t want to provoke him into revealing you were once married.”

“Or doing something rash to Thomas or Justin. We don’t have protections out here from them.” The Baroness frowned slightly.

Linda cleared her throat. “Baroness, I have to tell Alex.”

“The Cloudmill girl? I know she’s your friend.”

“She’s of the Lightning Circle.”

“Which is why she can be rash,” the Baroness observed.

“And she has a crush on Justin.”

The Baroness stared past them. “That could be useful.”

Silence again.

“Make no mistake, ladies, I don’t care about blood,” the Baroness gave each of them a hard look. “If there are true feelings, I won’t stand in their way. But if Alex can try to protect Justin and Thomas from John, then I’ll nudge, bribe, and downright insinuate. I’d be happy to have her as a granddaughter if it helps.”

“Ruthless,” Lily nudged Melissa.

The Baroness’ lips moved slightly upwards. “I will do anything for my family.”

“I hope it doesn’t come to that,” Linda said. “Mr. Sands is ruthless himself.”

“I know,” the Baroness’ voice turned soft. “That’s what made him so attractive. Back when I thought he was talking in metaphors about world domination.”

Linda blanched.

“Not that I think this Garnok he followed so fanatically truly exists.”

Linda turned greyer. “It does.”

“I’m not a druid. I have no magic.” The Baroness spread her hands. “I have to deal with the mundane world and paperwork. Young lady,” she turned her eyes back to Melissa.

“Melissa,” she said and gulped.

“If you find any more legible papers at the abandoned Summer House, please bring them here directly and give them to Godfrey.”

“I will,” Melissa nodded.

“Thank you,” the Baroness said.

It was as much of a dismissal that they’d ever heard.

They got up and left the office.

“I’m going to text Alex to come over and dive into the library. If Mr. Sands and Mr. Anwir haven’t aged, they might show up in the old history books.” Linda shoved her glasses up her nose again and rolled up her sleeves.

“Look,” Melissa said. “If there’s a fight with the druids, we don’t want to be dragged into it. Especially, if we don’t have any of these powers.”

Lily agreed. “I don’t have any issues with the druids.”

Linda sighed. “I understand.”

“I don’t want Dark Core and G.E.D. to become _our_ problem. We’re stable girls and we shouldn’t be dealing with the issues between adults.” Lily put her hands on her hips. “However, if Dark Core and G.E.D do try to make it our issue and our problem, and the druids don’t step up.” She raised her brows. “They’ll find out that completely harmless stable girls have more powers than their magical minds thought possible.”

Linda grinned. “There’s a story in that.”

“You write it. Make money.” Lily said.

Melissa put on her helmet. “I need to get back to Valedale.”

“Right,” Lily said and held out her hand. “Good thinking coming here first.”

Melissa shook it. “We have to stick together. Completely harmless,” she winked.

“I’ll make sure that the Baroness goes up to Valedale during Rainbow Week to see the waterfalls. Once she sees it, she can’t ignore it.” Lily promised.

Melissa clicked her heels and left for her horse.

Linda sighed. “Alex, what part of I can’t talk about it over electronic devices aren’t you getting? Put that game controller down, leave the Cheetos with Maya, and get your buttocks over here.”

Lily widened her eyes and left. She didn’t want anything to do with that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	30. Chapter 30

Alex Cloudmill, beanie cap and all, strolled into the temporary pavilion with a look of complete and utter awe on her face. Like, she couldn’t believe everything she was seeing.

Now, Lily didn’t have the best impression of Alex. She’d heard through Pia about the way Alex treated James once she found out about Token after the big meeting. While, Lily didn’t like James, Alex wasn’t helping matters with her attitude. James wasn’t the only Cloudmill with social and behavioral issues. So what if James had a plushie he cared for, a lot of teenagers had plushies they cared for, and he wanted to do something positive with it for Jorvik.

But no, she had to pick on him about it.

Alex had her fingers in her pockets. “So, you must be Lily,” she said as she sidled over towards her.

“I’ve seen you around Moorland, Alex Cloudmill, right?” Lily tried to keep her voice polite. She didn’t know what Alex wanted and she shouldn’t be Loretta.

Alex rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “There are so many campers, I can’t keep track of all of you.”

“We’re coming and going all the time,” Lily said, sarcasm rolling off of her in waves. Not that she expected Alex to remember her at all. It wasn’t like Alex even bothered to try. Maya had more of an excuse than Alex did. Or maybe it was less of one since she worked with the campers. Lily pushed it away for later. Alex wasn’t a camp counselor.

Alex missed the sarcasm. “Exactly.”

“What brings you out here, other than Linda,” Lily decided to cut to the chase.

“Well,” Alex scuffed her shoe on the ground. “I want you to come meet Elizabeth Sunbeam. I mean, you’ve been doing all this great stuff, and,” she trailed off.

“Being a good leader with a mild side of delegation and organizational skills doesn’t make me a candidate to be a, what is it again?” Lily said.

“Soul Rider,” Alex supplied. “I think Elizabeth could help clear up any misconceptions you have about it.”

“If she’s not going to work with Melissa, who, by the way, is the Club leader at her stables, then why is she going to work with me?” Lily crossed her arms. “I’m, for all intents and purposes, the Baroness’ lady.”

Alex shrugged. “I think you should meet her. She’s a power.”

Lily glanced around. The other girls had edged closer and were blatantly listening in. “What do you girls think?” She asked.

“Go,” Pauline said.

“Get it over with,” Regina nodded. “We’ve got our stable and we don’t want any problems with Melissa though.”

“Nope,” one of the other girls said popping the p.

“All right, I’ll go,” Lily said.

Alex grinned. “I’m sure this is all some miscommunication and a good chat will clear things up.”

Lily strode past her to get to her horse. There was another horse next to hers, golden in color with a blonde mane. “Yours?”

“You should see him out in the _wild._ ”

“Yeah, we haven’t been out far enough for that yet, I guess,” Lily said.

“You do know about it,” Alex blinked.

“It was brought to our attention that the Jorvik Warmblood Sports aren’t like other horses.”

“Well, this Tin Can.”

The horse whinnied.

“Nice to meet you too, Tin Can,” Lily said as she mounted her horse. “Transports okay with you, or would you like to get your hooves dirty?”

“Uh, he’s fine with a transport,” Alex said slowly, brow furrowed.

Lily nodded and urged her horse over to the transport. They rode in silence to Valedale. The transport slowed to a stop.

“I want to thank you for um, looking after my brother, and Justin,” Alex said abruptly. “I know he’s a pain in the ass.”

“James or Justin?” Lily asked.

“James,” Alex said quickly. “Look, I, I appreciate it. I mean, he told me how it was your plan to buy some of the Baroness’ horses for his stable and everything. We want him to succeed.”

“No one really wants anyone to fail. I mean, unless they’re a murderer or a fascist or something,” Lily blinked rapidly. “He’s got good ideas. He has really bad ways about executing said ideas.” She nudged her horse down the ramp.

Alex followed her. “Right.”

“Good people help other people,” Lily said. “So, you’re welcome.”

“And expect the same treatment?”

“Verily,” Lily nodded.

“I don’t know what that means,” Alex said.

Lily looked around. But what grabbed her attention first was the waterfall. It was _neon green._ It tumbled down the mountain and into the pool below with a great deal of _mist_ and spray. If it was this bad at the head of the river, Lily couldn’t imagine what it was like over the mountain with the Lake that was placid in comparison. (She pondered if the Lake drained down into the river as well through underwater channels. The water had to go somewhere if it was constantly being filled.)

She tore her gaze away from the green water. She didn’t see any of the girls in their celtic uniforms.

Melissa and the others must be at the ruined summer house still. All for the best, she guessed. She stopped by a girl that had to be related to Jenna and Judy. “Morning, I’m Lily with the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

“I’m Claire, Valedale Stable Master. Melissa’s told me a bit about you.” Claire grinned at her.

“All good I hope?” Lily’s lips twitched.

“Absolutely. Looking forward to Rainbow Week, it sounds like what you girls are putting together is going to be awesome. Going to have to take some days off to enjoy it all.” Claire nodded. “You might set an entirely new standard for holidays.”

“We hope so,” Lily said. “You have a lovely stable.”

“It’s quiet. We like it.”

“Nice meeting you, Claire,” Lily said.

Alex nodded at Claire. “Claire.”

“Alex.”

“She’s this way, cottage right next to the inn,” Alex said.

Lily noted a blonde woman sweeping her stoop wearing a dress with Celtic patterns on it.

“Elizabeth!” Alex called out as they got closer. “I brought someone to meet you.”

Elizabeth Sunbeam set her broom next to the door and brushed down her skirts. “How kind of you, Alex.”

Alex grinned. “Elizabeth, this is Lily. She’s the President of the Silver Drake’s Riding Club at the Manor.”

“Charmed,” Lily said.

Elizabeth peered at her. “Are you, are you really?”

“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t say so,” Lily said blandly.

“I suppose like Young Melissa you think you know everything.” Elizabeth pushed her hair back over one shoulder.

“I know nothing about the druids or your religion or much about Jorvik. I lead a group of girls that like horses and want to see our stable thrive. Hopefully, if we get to train, we can make it to the Claymore Challenge. However, as my friends and I go about our business in Jorvik, we keep running up against the G.E.D. and a group called Dark Core. These groups we understand are rivals to you. While in most circumstances this would make us allies for the enemy of the enemy is my friend,” Lily trailed off.

Alex stared at her with parted lips.

“The battle between light and darkness,” Elizabeth started.

“Your methods of fighting the darkness leave me questioning how light you actually are. The ends don’t justify the means, Ms. Sunbeam.” Lily shifted in her horse’s saddle. “Dark Core is trying to steal horses from South Hoof Peninsula. The Hightower family won’t listen. G.E.D. has drilled deep into the Greydew Mountains and has completely blocked off Old Hillcrest, yet, no one does anything. Dark Core is situated just up there,” Lily nodded at the mountain side above Valedale. “You can see their camp through a telescope or with a zoom lens. You’re happy to help sick horses. Are you going to help a sick land?”

Elizabeth frowned at her. “I must advise patience.”

“Patience? Lisa Peterson. Anne Von Blissen are _missing_ without a trace. These are your _people._ ” Lily squared her shoulders. “I came here willing to listen and thus far you have neither been welcoming nor said anything I care to hear. I judge you on your inaction. You allow the Silversong River to be tainted on your watch. First the fish near here will die. The plants on the banks will dry up and rot. The dirt will start falling into the stream choking the waters. Then it will spread to the ocean. It’s a ripple and it starts here in your sleepy mountain village.”

Elizabeth straightened. “You play with forces beyond your understanding.”

“And you seriously underestimate how much I don’t care,” Lily said in a tight voice. “Ms. Sunbeam, I don’t know who you work for or who you worship, but here’s my message. Lead. Follow. Or get the _hell_ out of my way. Change is coming on swift wings to South New Jorvik County. So far, none of you have been part of it.”

“You overestimate what I can do.” Elizabeth’s voice turned harsh. “And what you can do, a teenager, and a stranger to Jorvik, her magic, and her ways.”

Lily leaned down. “You were all strangers to Jorvik once.”

Alex shivered.

Lily straightened up and gathered the reins in her hands. “I’m sorry that this didn’t go as you hoped, Alex. With great power comes great responsibility. Do keep an eye on Justin for us.” She nudged her horse with her heel and he turned and flicked his hoofs daintily as he went down the hill.

Lily rode off to the Summer House.

Melissa looked confused to see her coming North from Valedale instead of West from the Manor.

Lily opened up without any preamble. “The Druids have gotten complacent.”

“Wow,” Melissa said. “You met Elizabeth. What did you say?”

“I threw down the gauntlet, quoted Spider-Man, and departed before she could get over her shock at my audacity.” Lily let her gaze rove over the Summer House.

“You should have seen it before,” Melissa joked.

Lily grinned. She sobered. “I wanted to warn you because I’m sure Claire will tell you I showed up.”

“Yes, the famous Lily,” Melissa leaned against her shovel and peered at the fire they had going on what remained of the hearth.

“Infamous more like,” Lily said drolly. “I really don’t know what came over me. Maybe it was seeing the waterfall and the camp _right_ there. How can she live with that every day and claim to be a druid?”

“I don’t think she’s a druid in the way that we think of druids,” one of Melissa’s girls said. “She worships this Aideen woman, rather than nature.”

“The problems with language being imprecise and terrible for nailing down ideas,” Lily shook her head.

“Well, I’m properly terrified,” one of the other girls said.

“Oh you,” Melissa snickered.

“See that you are,” Lily teased. This was going much better than meeting Elizabeth.

“Now that you’ve seen it, any ideas?” Melissa asked.

“Everything we’ve done before has been through proper channels making sure they had permits and all.” Lily shook her head.

“You know, those are probably supposed to be _posted,_ ” one of the girls said.

“There’s a Ranger station in Firgrove. Ingrid told me about it,” Melissa examined her nails. “It’s small.”

“Rangers take their duty of care to the pristine land of Jorvik seriously,” Lily said and almost managed a straight face. She sobered. “Just be careful.”

“We should have reconned better the first time,” Melissa fretted. “This could be over already.”

“You don’t have my club’s flair for skullduggery,” Lily wiggled her eyebrows.

“Next meeting, tips for skullduggery,” Melissa said solemnly.

They all burst into giggles.

Lily’s phone buzzed. She frowned. “It’s Sonja. What in the world?” She picked it up and put it in her ear. “Lily, champion of horses, at your service.”

“You’re in a mood already,” Sonja said. “I need your help. Luciana is having a run in with someone who I’m sure has lovely intentions and, I think she’s one of those druids.”

“I’m on my way,” Lily said and hung up. “Code red at Dundull,” she explained. Sensing her urgency, her horse spun on a dime and galloped back towards Valedale. She slowed him down long enough to enter the transport without running into anything, shouting “Dundull, ASAP,” at the driver.

The driver gave her a thumbs up and they were off.

Lily wondered what was going on the entire way. Last she had heard, G.E.D. had tried to bottle and sell the water of the spring at Dundull and in order to save the town or at least the lake water, Rania’s mother had become Mayor.

The trailer parked and Lily shouted her thanks as she got out. She texted Sonja about where they were.

“Stable,” the text read. “Turn right.”

So, Lily went right and found herself in a large stable yard. Rania and Luciana were squared off against a woman in a green vest over a green shirt and actual brown leather breaches.

Emma looked close to tears.

Horses stood in a circle around them. A big palomino draft horse with a strange blaze in the shape of a lightning bolt. Lily wasn’t sure of the breed.

“Harry Potter, much,” Lily muttered. Then she grinned. Her name was the name of the main character’s mother after all. “No relation,” she added under her breath.

Then there was Dellinger, Rania’s Commenara who was trained to help her with her blindness. Sirio, the black Lusitano that was Luciana’s main ride. Sonja’s white on white Jorvik Warmblood Sport. And lastly, a muddy colored palimino horse that looked to also have the lines of a Jorvik Starter Pony.

“Muddy is Emma’s horse,” Luciana said. “You can’t just take him away when she’s bought him fair and square from Kirsty.”

“They even had the proper bonding ceremony,” Rania added. “It was very beautiful. I cried.”

“I’m sorry girls,” Rhiannon said. “Muddy is a Starbreed.”

“You can’t take Starbreeds from people they’ve bonded to,” Rania argued. “I’ve lived here all my life and I know that much!

Sonja trotted over. “They’ve been going around in circles like this for close to twenty minutes.”

Lily rode over. “Excuse me,” she said.

“Lily,” Emma said and ran over. “You have to make this woman listen. I love Muddy. I bought him fair and square with my earnings. We’ve _bonded._ Muddy is my horse.”

“You have papers?”

Emma nodded.

“I’m not asking you to give me, Muddy. I’m asking you to sell him to the druids.” The woman said. “He’s a special horse.”

“I don’t want to sell,” Emma said. “I _just_ got him.” She flung her arms around the horse’s neck. “I’m not going to give you up, Muddy.”

“Not gonna let you down,” Sonja sang. “Not gonna run around and desert you.”

Lily glared at her.

“Sorry,” Sonja muttered.

“I didn’t come out here to be rick-rolled,” Lily hissed. “Look, Ms.,” she paused.

“Rhiannon,” the woman said.

“Rhiannon,” Lily repeated to put the name firmly in her mind. “If Emma has papers, the law is clear. The horse is hers. If she doesn’t want to sell Muddy, she doesn’t have to sell Muddy. Repeatedly asking when the answer doesn’t change is not only the definition of insanity. It’s _harassment._ ”

“I’m afraid that Emma won’t be able to take care of Muddy properly. Muddy’s a Starbreed.”

“He’s a Jorvik Starter Pony,” Emma defended with her face in Muddy’s neck. “And his name is Mudskipper.”

“By what authority are you saying that he’s a Starbreed?”

“I’m a druid,” Rhiannon said.

Lily wanted to scream. Oh, she was not getting on a good start with these druids. “I’m sure druids understand _property laws._ I know the G.E.D. and Dark Core don’t seem to but surely an upstanding, are you even an organization, like the druids would,” Lily sighed. “What am I saying? I sound crazy. Fine. What is a Starbreed?”

“I can’t tell you that,” Rhiannon said. “You aren’t a druid. They’re special.”

Lily’s temper broke and sarcasm filled her voice. “And you used your mystic powers to determine this and now you want Emma to sell her special friend.”

“Essentially,” Rhiannon tried for a smile.

“Mudskipper,” Lily addressed the horse directly. “Are you happy with Emma? Is she your special rider?”

The horse nodded.

“There, it’s settled. The horse wants to stay with Emma.”

Rhiannon’s brow furrowed. “Can you talk to horses?”

“We can all talk to horses.”

“I mean, can you understand them when they talk back? Are you a druid?” Rhiannon asked.

“You couldn’t pay me at the moment to be a druid,” Lily’s voice turned icy. “I’m dedicated to getting things done in a prompt, efficient, and timely manner.”

Sonja ducked her head and smirked.

“Motivation that the druids seem to be lacking,” Lily finished.

Rhiannon’s eyes unfocussed. “Your horse is also a Starbreed.”

“And you’ll get my horse over my cold dead body,” Lily snapped. “You can’t just look at horses, wave your hands, and expect people to turn them over.”

Rhiannon shook her head and her eyes focused. “You aren’t from around here.”

“What gave it away? My accent or my attitude.”

“The druids,” Rhiannon began.

“Sorry. I already got into this with Elizabeth Sunbeam not thirty minutes ago.” Lily held up a hand. “People have more to fear from G.E.D. and Dark Core than they have to fear from you, and G.E.D. is barely competent at what they do.”

Rhiannon sucked her cheeks in. She nodded at them. “I’ll leave you to think it over.”

“There’s nothing to think over,” Emma wailed.

Rhiannon mounted her horse and took off.

They all watched her go, the other stable girls drifting from where they’d been watching.

“She’s off to chat with Elizabeth over how rude and disrespectful I am, I’m sure.” Lily said. “So, anyone have any idea what a Starbreed is?”

“The druids claim all the horses they ride are Starbreeds,” Sonja said. “They sweep in at foaling time, check out all the foals and come back for the ones they claim are Starbreeds when they’re weaned. No one is quite sure where they take them or what they do with them.”

“Are there enough druids to justify taking all these horses?” Lily asked. “I mean, that’s rather suspicious. And how did my horse get missed then?”

“The Baroness banned them from her paddocks. They might have missed Muddy by accident,” Sonja shrugged a shoulder.

“Good on the Baroness,” Lily murmured. She picked out her phone and texted all the other presidents that there were special horses called Starbreeds that could be found among the horses and if anyone knew anything about them, they should share.

Kelsey texted back that it sounded suspicious. What if Dark Core wanted a Starbreed horse?

It made sense to Lily. If the Starbreed horses were the horses of the druids and these dark riders were the druid’s opposites, then of course, they’d want a Starbreed horse for whatever they were doing. She didn’t and couldn’t text all of that to Kelsey. Linda hadn’t texted her druid business for a reason. Maybe Dark Core or G.E.D. was more tech savvy than they appeared. So, she texted back a confirmation. Though if only the druids like Rhiannon knew how to figure out which was which, she didn’t know how that would help Kelsey.

Or Dark Core.

If Dark Core couldn’t tell. They’d get a lot of horses before getting the one they wanted. Not that Lily wanted them to get their hands on any horses. She sighed. “I think I’ve done enough damage for today.”

“No. No. No. Don’t say that. Watching you stand up to that woman was empowering,” Sonja said.

Lily smiled tightly at her. “Last straw, I guess. I’ll see you guys before Rainbow Week I hope.”

* * *

She used the transport to get to the Manor. Tracking down Linda, she interrupted Alex rhapsodizing about her stand against Elizabeth.

Linda cleared her throat. “Lily.”

“Oh, I was going to tell you all about it,” Lily flushed. “I don’t want you feel forced to choose sides or anything.”

“No. No forcing here,” Linda reassured her.

“Yeah. It was _excellent._ ” Alex said. “Like, I’ve been pushing for action ever since Lisa and Anne went missing!”

“Well, Rhiannon, another druid, I guess,” Lily explained the situation with Emma and Mudskipper. “Do you two know what a Starbreed is, and can you tell me?”

“Only in the way it related to Starshine,” Linda said. “His mane turns electric blue out in the wild. Herman thought it made him special, a Starbreed. I suppose by being our horses, they have to be Starbreeds. Though, Herman always said that Starshine, Meteor, Tin-Can, and Concorde were reincarnated versions of the original Starbreeds. Not that they remember their lives before, but that our souls have been together a long time.”

“You’re reincarnated too.”

“I guess?” Linda shrugged.

Alex sighed. “They really don’t like to explain unless you’re high up in the inner circles. We’ve only been at this a year.”

Linda gave Alex a chiding look.

“Not that we’re supposed to talk about it.” Alex waved her hands.

“All right, if you can’t, you can’t.” Lily said. “Be warned though. We can’t guard against people we don’t know about.” She left them there to get back to work. She’d been gone long enough.

She hoped those words wouldn’t come back to haunt her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eva: gets caught up on Saturday  
> Weather: sends down an ice storm on Tuesday that kills the power

Even though Linda had posted that the Riding Arena was going to be closed, Sabine still had an argument with Lily that morning over the affair. Lily had stood firm. The Riding Arena was closed. Sabine’s obsessive need to practice was going to have to go to _someplace_ else.

She saw them lining up their horses and insisted that they were just hogging the show jumping ring for themselves. Lily told her to stick around.

They led their horses inside and first they took the poles off the racks of the jumps and then took the racks apart and laid the pieces out before stacking them on the horses’ rumps.

They rode out of the riding arena with the equipment on their horse’s backs.

The look on Sabine’s face and the way she turned red was priceless in Lily’s opinion. The girl stomped over to her horse and rode off looking like she was going to yell at someone.

If she went to yell at the Baroness, Lily would have paid to be a fly on that wall. As it was, she sent a text warning Judy and Linda that Sabine was coming and she was pissed about the closed Riding Arena.

Once they had everything cleared out, including a table with what looked like an old cd player in the back, they stared around the empty room. The table and cd player went to the tack room. The showjumping equipment went to Thomas Moorland who had come to pick it up at the Manor in his truck.

Then they returned to the Riding Arena to face what was left.

“When do you think the last time this was cleaned?” Brittany asked.

They all looked at her.

“Valid question!” she protested.

They broke into groups.

Bjorn helped hook up the pressure washer to the faucet so they could wash the outside of the building getting the walls and the windows and washing down the parade ground outside the doors.

They were able to wave at the girls washing the inside windows on ladders with large amounts of ammonia and newspapers instead of paper towels. (Something about it doing a quick polish on the thick glass.) Another group of girls raked the dirt smooth.

After the back breaking work of putting in furniture in the wine cellar the day before it was almost relaxing. Though climbing up and down ladders to hang up the plants had been fun as two girls steadied the ladder and one girl climbed. There had been much giggling. The best part of doing the Wine Cellar had been putting in the neon sign over the back bar. Then the greatest part had been having an impromptu tasting party to give Aaron feedback on his menu. It had all been delicious including the rose and lavender ice creams. They weren’t soapy. That was always a big fear with rose and lavender. But Aaron wanted them to be specials for the grand opening!

They swept up the stands on the dressage side. Then they washed the stands down. Vacuumed the walls before washing them with sponges and buckets of soapy water. They took down the signs on the walls too. Because after that, they had to tape off the windows and cover parts of the floor near the walls and _paint._

The walls were going from being white to a lovely light lavender color.

Outside, dirt and pollen and grit seemed to slide off the marble faced walls and they had to work extra hard to get it out of the seams where the columns met the walls between the windows and the border under the windows that was a series of Silverglade Clan swirls instead of a traditional Greek key or wave pattern. They cleaned out the eaves as well. Bjorn muttering about gutters. Once everything was clean, including the urns, they were able to paint the urns up. Bjorn had them help inspect the walls for any cracks.

A closer look and Bjorn pronounced that the marble had been treated with something to keep it looking pristine. That’s what made it easy to clean. Marble was notoriously porous stuff.

The girls muttered about how they wouldn’t want the place to fall apart or be defaced.

“Maybe a guard dog?”

“But do guard dogs get along with horses?”

It was a good question. The better question of course was, would the Baroness mind guard dogs?

“Ducks aren’t great guards. Geese are,” one girl observed. “But not necessarily ducks.”

“Corgis are cute and good with horses but not exactly guard dog material unless they are in swarms. I mean, they’re too cute and fuzzy to be intimidating. Plus, they’re super friendly.”

“Someone,” Bjorn reminded them, “is going to have to take care of this dog. Walk it. Feed it. Clean up the messes.”

The nearest pet show was in Fort Pinta and no one really had time at that moment to go and inquire.

“It might not be necessary,” Abigail said.

“Now that’s tempting fate,” Stacey warned her.

“Don’t say things like that, you’ll jinx it!” Brittany waved her arms. She had the hose so she sprayed water all over them.

They squealed and ducked getting wet anyways.

“Brittany!” Stacey shouted.

Abigail tried to wrestle hose from her and succeeded. Brittany yelped, let her have it and ran away. “It was an accident!” she shouted.

“Get back here!” Abigail shouted back.

Bjorn grinned and didn’t reprimand. Let the girls be girls.

After lunch from the Silver Glade courtesy of Tony with the doors fully open so the paint could dry, Agnetha appeared with new showjumping equipment. Thankfully, for everyone’s piece of mind, it wasn’t 100% purple. There was plenty of white in the jumps. Though the bars came in lavender (a light blue purple,) grape (dark blue purple,) lilac (the light red purple,) raspberry (medium red purple,) and mulberry (dark red purple.) Nothing was overly bright or garish, much to everyone’s relief.

“Now, the Baroness has declared she wants a garden style jumping ring,” Agnetha said. “And I wasn’t sure exactly what that meant but she had pictures.” Agnetha made a face.

“Oh dear,” Pauline murmured.

“What that meant, I suppose, was she wanted flowers under the jumps, shaped bushes as jumps, and either trained roses, or rose urns on the sides of the jumps. We’re compromising.”

The girls all looked at each other. They all wondered how much of an argument Agnetha and Anabella had had over _this concept_ called _compromise._ Bjorn’s lips twitched and he surreptitiously sent them video he had covertly recorded for them to watch later. (There would be many gasps and a lot of giggles.)

Agnetha hefted a larger jump side out of her truck, It was a swirled design painted in raspberry. “We have two variations of these, this one, poor thing, is supposed to be a horse head.”

The girls giggled. The swirls were in the shape of a horse head. They did recognize it.

“And the other, I think for you girls, is lavender and in the shape of a duck’s head.” Agnetha rolled her eyes. “She special ordered these and we’re to train the roses on them.”

The girls nodded. That made sense and would be pretty.

“Now, we’ll be using some more standard configuration jumps and having smaller urns in them with miniature roses to keep them seated in place being heavy and all.” Agnetha continued. “Then there’s to be at least one or two jumps, I’m not sure how many jumps there actually are in this course that will be the big urns with the roses in them. I’m sure you’re sensing a theme.”

They grinned.

“Lastly, we’re going to be using some of the shrub roses to create ‘formed’ jumps. I argued for lavender, but you know how she is.” Agnetha rolled her eyes. “Now, some of the ground roses will be going under the jumps to, and I quote, tie everything together. Now, I think that if she wants a garden jumping course, she should leave the garden aspect to the experts, but no one asked me. There will also be _two_ rose arches that are going to form the entrances and exits of the riding tracks. I guess so everyone knows where to start and where to end.”

They giggled and nodded.

“And you can bet dollars to donuts, that she will want a rose arch jump in the middle of the track once she sees it, so we’re going to get ahead of her and do it anyways.”

“Understood, Agnetha,” Lily said.

“I also have new signs, white with grape lettering and fancy roses and grape corners.” Agnetha rolled her eyes. “In about an _hour,_ the contractors are going to be here to change out the seats for new Mulberry and Grape ones. So, we’re to stay out of their way and let them work.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem if we’re doing the jumps on the showjumping side.” Linn said.

“So, I hope you’re all finished eating because work starts now,” Agnetha announced, hand on one hip.

A couple of the girls took the signs and Bjorn’s favorite battery powered drill and went to put up the new signs where the old ones had been. The grapes and roses were embossed silver bits around the edges. They were really quite pretty and added a bit of flair to the place. They were long out of the way by the time the contractors arrived.

Inside, they had to mark everything out and set things up to see how they’d look aesthetically. Sure, the Baroness had given them a number of jumps and which jumps in each place were supposed to have so many bars, but she hadn’t said which jumps were to be what _type_ of décor.

And Agnetha was fussy. So, they kept having to move things around until she was happy with it all. So, if the ones around the edges happened to be more shrubs and no fancy sides than the ones in the middle. (Though Agnetha had decided to turn a least one of the horse head or duck head jumps into shrub jumps instead of bars.) Then, it was only because the jumps were so close to the edge of the walls.

Or that’s what they’d tell the Baroness.

They were simply following Agnetha’s directions. They had no say in anything, nothing at all.

When they were finished, Linn tested it out.

She wasn’t in her showjumping uniform. They were all dressed for work in their pretty winery clothes that could take hard work. Linn thought it was a challenging set of jumps.

“It’s beautiful,” the Baroness said from the door.

They all turned to her.

Everyone wanted to heave a great sigh of relief.

The Baroness smiled ever so slightly. It was better than she could have imagined. She nodded at them and left.

“Is it bad that I want to give her a hug?” Tyra asked. “Like, things around here have been bad so long and now, I don’t know, I want to give her a hug and tell her it’s going to be okay.”

They all laughed at that.

“It’s not bad.” Regina said.

“I doubt she’d accept.”

“Group hug!” Shouted Brittany.

They gathered around to hug each other. Because sometimes, you needed to get the hugs out.

* * *

They all woke up excited, grabbing toast and dashing around to do all the clean up chores (and protecting their toast from hungry horses who liked _bread._ ) It was decoration day! Today was the day that they were going to turn their bit of South New Jorvik County into the most rainbow celebratory festival that anyone had ever seen.

Without being tacky.

They knew the baroness would make them tear it all down if it was tacky.

But they were excited. They felt they had the right to be excited. Prying open boxes of decorations with crow bars, they hoped they had enough. Because there were plenty of hearts, and rainbow hearts and big fluffy cloud lights, and _bows._ Specifically, there was a large box of rainbow sequin hair bows they were to hand out to the girls they met and tell them to go see Jojo Siwa over at Moorland.

And all the bows, sequin or not, had roses with light purple crystals in the middle of them.

Giggling, they helped each other put hair bows on and put an armful of each into their saddlebags. They broke into groups, grabbing decorations, because there were a lot of them and every place needed to be decorated from the Silver Glade Restaurant, to the stables, to the gardens.

They were lucky, the lamps of the manor had arms off of them. So each lamp got a bow at the junction of the arms, a pearl studded heart on the arm nearest to the road affixed in rainbow order from one lamp to the next, and a chain of hearts wrapped around the pole (hearts also in rainbow order instead of being rainbow striped.) There were a _lot_ of lamps.

The birch trees got decorations of hanging small clouds with trails of hearts dangling from them like it they were raining hearts. They also had lanterns with heart shapes cut out of them to hang.

They decorated the bridges with bows and the heart streamers going from bow to bow.

They found a broad board and braced it against the columns in the fountain.

Lily eyed it. “I’m not sure it’s safe.”

“Then be careful not to fall in,” Pauline teased. “Or you’ll get wet.”

“Thanks,” Lily said.

She carefully walked over to get the clouds and hearts in the trees. Linda also gave her lanterns with heart cut outs to hang up.

More of these lanterns got placed into the flower beds and hidden in the urns.

They put the hearts on the doors and in the windows. The heart streamer swags went across doorways and were draped in the windows, across the stall tops on the interior of the stable. They put bows on the fences and bigger studded hearts in the middle of the fence with the heart streamers draped between them. And they put the bows on the lower half of the exterior stall doors of the horses, chiding them not to nibble on them.

They made a display of bigger studded hearts using fishing line in the archways to either side of the main doors of the Manor.

They put up the cloud lamps in the dome of the stables, two girls holding the ladder in place as another perched precariously near the top of it. There were big clouds and small clouds and they created a grouping of them. They turned on the lights after, the LEDs in the clouds a bright white, while the big ones had LED strands in rainbow colors that faded in and out.

They liked it so much they put some over the aisles in the stables and took them down to the riding arena to do as big of a display as they could by bunching big ones together in the dressage side. Using transports, they were able to go get sun catchers and stained glass decorations from Cape West and New Hillcrest to put in the windows of the Riding Arena. There wasn’t any hay in there after all.

Rainbow heart streamers got draped around the railing of the bandstand in the garden. Pearl studded hearts hung from the arches. And more clouds were put under the dome.

They added clouds to the dome in the rooftop restaurant and more studded hearts. They put the lanterns in the middle of every table rearranging the flower vases so they made more sense. Flower boxes got a studded heart in the middle of them, with rainbow hearts swags to each side. They put bows on every fence section.

Someone decided to hide the heart streamers in the rose arches of the long archway. Along the back of the benches, they put the heart streamers, bows, and one of the big studded hearts.

The entire time they were running around, they’d run into girls their age that were riding horses or leading horses or all in all wandering about. They passed out the hair bows. “Come see Jojo Siwa and stand together this Rainbow Week!”

Reactions were mixed but no one as quite willing to refuse a sparkly sequin rainbow hair bow. The hair decorations multiplied.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	32. Chapter 32

At lunch, the Baroness approached Lily. “Who is Jojo Siwa?” She asked after complimenting them on the cloud display in the stable. (She found it elegant and impactful.)

“She’s a pop singer who’s headlining the festivities in Moorland. She’s from the United States,” Lily told her. “Her songs are on J-Tube.”

The baroness tilted her head and slightly pursed her lips. “I would like to meet her. Invite her to dine with me tonight. I doubt she’ll have time once the festivities start. All of you are invited.”

Lily blinked. “I, yes, I’ll do that. Thank you, Baroness Silverglade.”

The Baroness smiled softly and left.

“I, um,” Lily looked at all the other girls. “Is she even in Jorvik yet?”

“She’s staying at Fort Pinta Inn,” one of the girl’s said. “She had the choice between that and Silverglade. The festival stand is halfway between pretty much. I think she’s hanging out at the Disco?” She checked her phone and Jorvikgram. “Yeah, she’s at the disco.”

“Then, um,” Lily finished her lunch and looked at her outfit. She didn’t think she wanted to see Jojo looking like this, not to invite her to see the Baroness over dinner! “I better change.”

“Right. You want to make a good impression.”

“I’m the Baroness’ lady,” Lily said mock seriously.

They giggled.

“And we’ll start on the balloons.”

“And get the bunting on the paddock.”

“And we’re going to put the little clouds and hearts through the Silver Glade track and all the trees on the side of the road across the bridge and towards Silverglade Village.”

“And the ones in the grape fields. Balloons too.”

“Get the fences. Can’t forget the fences.”

“Because you _never know_ who is going to take a ride through the fields during the festivities.”

Lily just nodded.

“We’ve got this under control, boss.” Pauline grinned at her.

“You represent our stable!” Regina shook her fist in front of her face.

“This isn’t _pokemon!_ _”_ Several of them yelled at her.

Lily retreated as Regina started arguing that the stable was _like a gym._ She looked over her clothes and decided on the midriff baring Baroness bow blouse in lavender and grape with her pair of white baroness capri pants and silverglade clan sneakers in lavender with the mulberry stripe. It was a good balance between showing appreciation for Jojo Siwa (bow blouse) and pride in her club. On a whim, she kept the sparkly bow in her hair.

She took the transport to Fort Pinta and left her horse at the stable. She had to smile because the farmer’s cart near the stable had changed their awning for one with rainbow stripes. And well, the girls in Fort Pinta had the same ideas they had had on how to use the decorations around the stable area and in the huge courtyard with the fountain.

Saffi and Selma mobbed her before she got halfway across the courtyard to gush at her about wearing the bow and how great it looked.

Lily grinned. “Thanks. I think it’s fetching.” She touched it briefly. “We have a lot of girls interested in supporting Jojo over the next week.”

Saffi and Selma squealed. “Girl power!”

“Girl power,” Lily agreed with a grin and bumped their knuckles.

Her outfit changed was all for the good. Jojo was on the disco balcony, not quite looking bored. “Oh, you’re awesome!” She shouted and pointed at Lily.

Lily posed and pointed back. “No! You’re awesome!”

Jojo laughed.

Lily sauntered over to her. She held out her hand. “Lily, President of the Silver Drakes Riding Club.”

Jojo smacked it. “Jojo Siwa! But, err, you probably know that.” She tugged Lily closer. “Selfie!” She said holding up her phone and snapping a pic of both of them. She let Lily go after.

Lily grinned. “I do. I follow Jorvikgram like everyone else.”

Jojo waved her phone. “You’re part of my jorvikgram story now!” She said as she posted the picture.

“I’ll be sure to download it,” Lily promised. “My Club is looking forward to coming to watch the show.”

“Radical!” Jojo looked excited. Her eyes darted back and forth. “You want a dance lesson first. Just so you can be on the edge of coolness.”

“Sure,” Lily agreed.

Jojo led her through some of her signature moves. “You’ve got it!”

Lily laughed. “I’ll teach the other girls and we’ll do a show.”

“Maybe if you’re good enough you can get up behind me and be my, like, back up dancers.”

“That’d be great.” Lily wrinkled her nose. To her, Jojo seemed a bit lonely. It had to be tough being alone on Jorvik. “Say, I have an invite for you. Actually, it’s not an invite. It’s more like an order to appear. Baroness Silverglade wants you to join her for dinner. It’s kind of like,” Lily paused. “Okay, not the mayor, since the mayor of this town is a pony, but more like the President of the area asking. She owns a lot of land around here and she wants to know more about you.” Lily made finger guns at Jojo.

Jojo’s eyes widened. “Really. Um, wow.”

“I don’t think you’re really getting the option to refuse.”

“What should I wear?”

“Well, the Baroness likes roses and purple. If you have a nice dress, tonight would be the time.”

“I have, like, the perfect thing! This is going to be so cool. What is she like?”

“Ice queen, but she does have a soft heart. She cares a lot about this area and her people. I hope you like Greek food. If you don’t, um, Antonia, her chef, makes this apple smothered pork chop that’s to die for, not literally, but it’s delicious.”

“I am down with the Greek food.” Jojo fiddled with her sequin dress. “Um, Lily, I’m supposed to go meet someone named Loretta at this festival site. But the only transportation they have around here is horses.”

“Haven’t been on them much?”

“Not really. Come with.”

“Absolutely,” Lily agreed without reservation. She should check on what the Bobcat girls were doing for decorating the area anyways. One never knew with Loretta. “I think Tan is a mega Siwa fan. She’s Loretta’s right hand girl. If it’s not right, Tan will get it fixed. Come on, you can meet my horse, and we’ll find you a nice pony.”

“A pony?”

“They aren’t so far from the ground,” Lily winked. She actually liked Jojo. She didn’t want to intimidate her like she’d intimidated James.

Jojo relaxed slightly. “Sweet.”

They went to the stable and after making sure Jojo met Mayor Peanut, who through James, had greetings for her. She took selfies with him. Lily introduced Jojo to her horse. More pictures of Lily and the horse together mostly. And then, they found her a nice steady Jorvik Starter Pony to ride. Jojo took a self of her and the horse together.

On the ride, Jojo was full of questions about how long Lily had been in Jorvik and was it all so rural and did she like it and so on and so forth. Lily answered freely enough. She didn’t mind telling Jojo about herself. She made it a point to point out special things about the parade route. The Bobcat Girls and the Ponies had worked the rainbow and sequin streamers into the ivy, and put rainbow sequin swag bunting and the big bows both inside and outside of the archways. There were huge bunches of ombre rainbow balloons too.

On the fences, they’d put more bows, and swags of sequin bunting, and bracketed the places where they ended with balloons. At the base of the fence post, they’d put the lanterns. Lily took a picture and texted it to one of the girls.

Jojo bounced in the seat of her saddle and took pictures. Her fingers flew over the keys as she captioned them.

“On it!” She got a response to her text from Regina.

Tan met them as they entered the site, jumping up and down and waving. She was ecstatic to point out the decorations.

At the festival site, there was more of the same, lots of sequin swag bunting, lots of bows, tons of balloons. One of the carts with a rainbow awning had set up to sell merchandise. They had set up a photo wall with both pastel and bright color rainbow curtains behind it but they were all sequins. There were bows and gold beads too.

Jojo insisted on doing several selfies and included both of them.

Tan gestured at a tent with a rainbow awning.

“For the friendship bracelets and to make the bows,” Tan explained.

They’d left a large empty area in front of the stands.

“So everyone can dance,” Tan said as to why all the benches were further back. “We’re having our rainbow swirl sugar cookies and milk. The Farmer’s Market is just over the fence so we thought it’d be too much to have food.”

Jojo’s eyes widened. “There’s a farmer’s market.”

“Sure, it’s free for anyone to go to,” Lily said. “If you want to check it out.”

“Do I ever!”

Tan jumped in. “I can take you if you want! Linda sent over these program flyers for the craft tent with a map so everyone knows where to go.” She jogged off and came back. “Here. I hope you get some time to go to all the festivities between sets.”

Jojo read it over. “This is so awesome. I can’t believe you’re doing this much _stuff._ I’ll definitely have to get around. I don’t know if I’ll have time to see the other performers though. Bummer.”

“There’s a charm bracelet in it for you if you do,” Tan said. “I’ll come with you and we can collect the charms together.”

Jojo grinned. “I’m sure Selma and Saffi would like to come too. This will be great.”

Lily nodded at Jojo. “Well, I need to check in with Loretta then. You two have fun at the Farmer’s Market and I’ll see you tonight at dinner. I’ll make sure Godfrey comes to pick you up.”

“Godfrey?”

“The butler.”

“Butler. Got it.” Jojo nodded. She grinned at Lily. “Thanks for taking the time to come with me.”

“She’s renting a pony from Fort Pinta stables,” Lily said to Tan.

“I thought it looked like one of theirs. I mean, though, why would you be out to see the Welshies on South Hoof yet. Though you really got to do it. Have you ever ridden with a wild horse herd? It’s so totes amazing!” Tan beamed at Jojo.

Jojo looked a bit leery. “I’m down,” she said trying to be game.

Lily took off. “Dinner’s at six,” she called over her shoulder.

Lily rode down to Moorland Stable proper. There were tons of camper wearing Jojo bows and they grinned at hers pointing at their heads. Lily gave them a thumbs up.

They gave her thumbs up back.

Lily was quite relieved to see that the Bobcat girls had managed to use the rainbow decorations instead of the pink ones. She stopped by Julie next to one of the entrance gates. “Any problems?”

“Conrad won’t let us decorate the forge. We’re going to do it anyways,” Julie eyed her nails. “Do you think I should do a rainbow manicure? That’s the thing right?”

“If you want, maybe one gold nail, to be hip,” Lily advised. It wasn’t that the Bobcat Girls were bad people. They were just a bit vapid and shallow.

“I better wait until I don’t have any chores left to do.” Julie sighed. “We haven’t been able to recruit anyone else. They all want to run off and form new clubs.” She glowered at Lily.

“Viva la revolution.” Lily said blandly. She tipped an imaginary hat to Julie and trotted around the stable to check on Loretta.

Loretta widened her eyes at her. “You will not believe all the trouble putting up these decorations has caused. Josh is refusing to talk to me after I put hearts on his poles.”

“Poor baby,” Lily said. “It looks nice.”

She looked towards the Pole Bending track. Josh knelt next to his poles with his hat knocked back and a roll of tape meticulously taping down each heart. She wasn’t getting involved. Nope. Let Josh and Loretta sort it out between them.

“And I told him that it’s Rainbow Week. Unless the skulls were painted like rainbows, they had to go. Now he’s threatening to leave Moorland. I don’t know what his problem is? This is Rainbow Week and it has to go off perfectly. Tan’s so busy setting up the festival site making sure it’s _perfect_ for Jojo that I’m not sure she’s going to get the parade outfits done in time.”

“Jojo seems pleased with the site.”

“Something’s going right then,” Loretta huffed. “I don’t know why she decided to come up with new parade outfits, last years were fine. I mean, they’re black with black.”

“I thought they were nice. They had the black vest with the black capris, right?”

“Yeah, but no, ‘the power of friendship compels me’ or something. I told her that it better not be anything like Daxton’s rainbow vest. It had better be _fashionable_ or I’m not wearing it.”

“It can get rather loud very quickly,” Lily agreed. “That was the danger in the decorations too.”

Loretta wrinkled her nose. “That might be the first thing we’ve ever agreed on.”

“Well, as long as Tan hasn’t taken them apart, you still have last years if hers turn out to be not fashionable.”

“True,” Loretta chewed her lip.

Things looked under control enough. Lily rode through the stable area to check out all the different decorations. She breathed a sigh of relief. No one had tried to sneak the pink things in at all. A quick tour through the other courtyard revealed their photo wall set up in front of Moorland’s distinctive camp office.

Lily took the transport back to the winery and directly into some teasing about her adventures with Jojo.

“As Tan says, don’t be jelly,” Lily rolled her eyes. “Jojo’s an enthusiastic and sweet girl.”

They all giggled.

“You’ll meet her soon enough for dinner,” Lily sighed. “And you can get your selfies with her then.”

“I think we’re about done,” Pauline said.

“It looks _great,_ ” Lily said. There were bunches of balloons everywhere to fill up space. It really made the whole thing come together and not look tacked on. “Where is everyone else?”

“Decorating the pavilion and setting up our photo wall,” Pauline said. “We’ve got the supplies for the crafts locked up in the tack room right now. I think we can lock them up in the arena overnight.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Make it so,” Pauline said and texted it out.

Lily rolled her eyes. “While you’re making me out like Captain Picard, Number One. Tell everyone to dress _nicely_ for dinner. Dresses.”

Pauline nodded. “We better rotate shower time.”

Lily decided she better inspect everything. She wanted to have a good report for the Baroness.

* * *

Jojo Siwa slid out of the car in front of the huge Greek style manor and looked around, her eyes huge in her face. She smoothed her skirt.

Lily darted forward to greet her. “Jojo, glad you came.”

“You didn’t say it was so fancy,” Jojo whispered.

“Baroness implies fancy,” Lily implied. “You look great.” And Jojo did. She’d put an ombre purple sequin bow in her hair which was thankfully down instead of her signature ponytail. The top of her dress had a huge blown out rose done in smaller sequins on it. It covered her entire chest. The skirt was a darker purple large sequins and the sleeves matched the skirt. Her ballerina flats had bows on them too. Fortunately, only the bows had sequins.

Lily didn’t know what the Baroness felt about sequins. It didn’t matter. Jojo looked decent.

“You look nice too.”

Lily glanced down at her Winery Rose Evening dress. She didn’t think the white color made it any less formal but it matched Pauline’s lace dress she’d bought at the Jorvik Shopping mall color wise. “Francezka Ironsaddle, big Jorvik designer. She did all our outfits. The Silver Rose opens tomorrow,” Lily gestured at the building almost hidden now behind the trees in the reflecting pool. “Well, not all of our dresses, Francezka only designed three and it is _difficult_ to find nice dresses here on Jorvik.” Lily tucked her arm around Jojo’s and led her up the stairs. “Try not to let her intimidate you.”

“Too late,” Jojo said.

The girls were waiting inside beaming brightly. Lily made introductions and Jojo kindly did pictures with all of them.

“Okay, phones away,” Lily said once they were done. “And on silent!”

They all tucked phones away.

Godfrey opened the doors of the dining room promptly at six. The Baroness stood up to greet them at the head of the table. There was gleaming crystal glasses, elegant china, and more silver flatware than most of them had ever seen.

Lily introduced Jojo to the Baroness.

“Ms. Siwa, please, take a seat on my right.” And a glance at Lily had Lily seated at her left. Linda sat next to Lily. In fact, everyone who worked at the Manor and even Anastasia and Aaron were in attendance. The girls took up the middle of the long table while Aaron ruled the other end with his sister. (Anastasia’s dog had its own chair.)

The Baroness asked Jojo about herself as the soup course came out, the lemon chicken soup Lily noted. Jojo was happy to talk about herself, her music and the messages she tried to sing about friendship, being kind, and supporting each other, and her v-log. Though Linda had to interrupt to tell the Baroness what a V-Log was.

“A visual diary for the public, how, interesting,” the Baroness said politely.

Pauline sat next to Jojo and with low voice prompts managed to get her to talk about Jorvik and meeting the Jorvik Starter Ponies and since Jojo phrased everything enthusiastically (like they figured she would) the Baroness didn’t get offended over anything. Jojo loved Silverglade Castle and raved about the food she’d had at the Farmer’s Market.

Anastasia managed to slip in a question about Jojo’s fashion style.

Lily had no idea what the Baroness was hoping to learn or Anastasia for that matter.

After one of Aaron’s sundaes, it was time for Jojo to leave.

The Baroness walked her out to Godfrey’s car. “Ms. Siwa, it’s a pleasure to see young people in this day with such passion and enthusiasm for what they do. You appear quite genuine rather than being an act. You’re always welcome to back to my part of Jorvik.”

Jojo brightened. “Thank you!” She gasped and got in the car.

Godfrey smiled at his employer nodding in approval before he got in the driver’s seat and took Jojo back to Fort Pinta.

Lily concluded that probably couldn’t have gone any better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


	33. Chapter 33

The first day of Rainbow Week couldn’t have dawned any better. Clear skies, warm breezes, everything looked like it was going to go off without a hitch. The girls scrambled through the daily chores and then dressed in outfits for a day of having _fun._

They stood in a circle and put their hands on top of each other.

“Right, girls, time for _fun,_ ” Regina said.

“Get ready to _party!_ _”_ Brittany shouted.

“Go Silver Drakes!” They shouted and raised their hands together. “Whee!”

“To Moorland!” Tyra pointed.

“To Moorland!” They all agreed as they mounted their horses and rode out.

The main part of Moorland’s festivities were taking place at the festival area. So, that’s where they went. First stop, they went to the tent to choose what friendship bracelet they wanted for their charm bracelets. There were two different rainbow styles to choose from and one that was hearts.

They would have to talk to Jenna at the stable to get their charm though.

They took photos at the selfie wall, browsed the Jojo and Rainbow Week shop. It had clothes and mysterious powders for their horses and interesting tack. They made bows and put them on at the crafting stall.

There was a large table where they could make and write Rainbow themed Friendship Cards for everyone. That took the longest, and was perhaps the most fun. They made them for everyone in their Clubs and the other Clubs. They even made them for the Bobcats, because no one wanted to be mean. It was Rainbow Week. Embrace the power of friendship! There were huge sacks of letters they stuck theirs in to go to the post office later.

And then when Jojo got on for her first set, they went and did a line dance in the front row.

Jojo jumped up and down she was so happy to see them and insisted for the second song that they dance with her. Which was tons of fun.

They promised her to come back later to listen to a full set.

They had _just_ enough time to get their bow charm from Jenna before joining the parade to go to Fort Pinta!

Loretta insisted Lily ride with her. “Tan’s outfits were a disaster,” she said.

“Which is why you’re wearing the black on black,” Lily observed. The vest and capri pants had rainbow piping, and there was a rainbow bow at their necks.

“It was so tacky. I told her that next year, I’ll have someone else do the Festival grounds if she can’t focus on decorating and coming up with a reasonable design.” Loretta rolled her eyes.

‘I’m sure she tried her best. Rainbow is challenging.”

“Well, this was like a rainbow puked over everything. So not tres chic. We have _fashion police_ on Jorvik and I don’t want to be arrested!”

“I don’t think that’s what the fashion police _do._ ”

Loretta gave her a long look. “Nobody is supposed to know what the Fashion Police do. They’re, they’re this secret agency that we know exists. Think of all the Fashion crime they’re stopping by merely existing. Do you want to wear 100% polyester? The Fashion Police put a stop to that,” Loretta shuddered.

“For being secret, you know a lot about them.”

“Look, Tan might want to be a fashion designer, but I think I’m a top pick for the Fashion Police if I can’t make it in Eventing. I have studied _everything._ Fashion history. Fashion laws. I know it.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine at it,” Lily said trying to hide her dubiousness. Okay then. “Whatever you end up doing, that is.”

“I’ll win the eventing circuit in Jorvik if Anne Von Blissen doesn’t come back. Just watch me,” Loretta tossed her head. “I’m a shoo in. And, between you and I, I’m prettier than Anne. And everyone thought she was going to be a model before she went after the dressage circuit. Then, she’s gone. You know what I think.”

“No. I’m not psychic.”

“I think she was losing and couldn’t hack it. So she elected to disappear rather than face the shame of it all.”

“That’s a wild theory. I don’t know Anne at all.”

“She’s stuck up.”

Lily bit her tongue. That was rather hypocritical of Loretta to say.

Behind her, Pauline snorted.

“Like, Herman told her she had these fancy magic powers, that don’t exist, and I mean, she already thought she was better than the rest of us and that made it worse.” Loretta rolled her eyes. “She started hanging out with complete losers like Alex and Lisa and that nerd, Linda.”

“Isn’t Lisa a music star like Jojo?”

“She wasn’t then,” Loretta huffed. “Come on, it’s like you don’t get how this works.”

“No, Loretta. I don’t get how you do friendship,” Lily’s voice turned tart. “If I waited to be friends with someone before they were somebody, then I’d have no friends. You’re friends with Tan.”

“Tan gets it.”

The parade ended at the gates of Fort Pinta. Fortunately, because Lily was about to lose her temper. She rode straight into Fort Pinta without even saying good bye. She just, she couldn’t or else she was going to say something she’d regret later.

Pia ran over. “You came!”

Lily smiled as she looked around. There were pinatas in the trees and people of all ages lining up to look at them and take a swing to crack them open.

“Of course we came!” Pauline said. “Forgive Lily, she’s in Loretta daze.”

“Ugh. I understand. Mayor Peanut has the charms,” Pia explained. “So, you can head over and get them there.”

“The art show is,” Lily paused. “Colorful.”

Arrayed around the fountain were stands and little tents and umbrellas, all were rainbow themed, and under the rainbow themed tents and umbrellas were more, well, rainbow themed things.

Pia led them and their horses around the edge of it. DJ Kai was blasting “I Hate Plastic” in the disco. The floor lights turned random colors, the disco ball turned radiating small square lights onto the walls and the door of Disco Daze Clothes Shop.

Pia put a hand to her forehead. “I didn’t even ask for it and they, they showed up with _tie dye._ All of them! I mean, there’s pillows, and blankets, and wall art, and I don’t know what that is,” she gestured at something. “And t-shirts, I mean, get yourself a rainbow tie dye t-shirt.”

“We will,” one of the girls said.

Mayor Peanut had a rainbow sequin band on his new shiny black top hat. And someone, cheekily, had put a large rainbow tie around his neck.

The girls put up their horses in the stable first before coming back to see him.

James had rigged up a motion sensor and a bunch of recorded phrases it seemed as Mayor Peanut was talking almost non-stop. They got their charms, the pony head. And took selfies with him. He had a snack station too. And the tourists were using it egregiously. The girls though gave him extra scratches that he enjoyed just as much.

“It’s a good thing that James has to take him out with Fussywithers,” Tyra murmured. “Or he’d be getting fat.”

Eyes widened.

They found the backdrop near the statue and took more selfies with it.

Lily leaned against the sign as she waited her turn that explained who the statue was, one Governor Gareth. It popped open.

Lily jumped. “What in the world?” She went to close it and stopped. Inside was a round seal. She swiped it out and shut the sign up. It had a sun on it, like, the sun on Elizabeth’s dress design. It felt warm in her hand and her skin tingled. Lily glanced around. No one had noticed. She slipped the seal into her pocket. She’d show it to Linda later.

She didn’t think much of the hiding spot though.

They browsed the art show and there were purple t-shirts with rainbows on them. Of course, they bought them. The purple was a light purple and dark purple tie dye, then with the rainbow tie dyed in as well. They were perfect.

They decided they’d have to wear them the next day.

Of course, they had to dance to DJ Kai’s music and eat some cookies at the café. They stopped to look at all the cute piggies at the Pet Shop. The owner warned them that they wouldn’t be that small for long. Pigs, even dwarf pigs, could grow as tall as a person’s waist. Though normal pigs were taller than an average human.

The short take away was that pigs were big and were a commitment.

“Oh, we’re browsing,” Lily said. “Do you know anything about pet ducks?”

“No,” the owner said slowly.

“We have lots of ducks around our stable,” Linn said.

“Some of them want to adopt us,” Pauline giggled.

Once the pigs had gotten enough pets, and there was some stomach rumbling, they decided to head to the next place.

“All the sugar cookies are making me hungry!” Stacy said.

“Sugar does that,” Elsa said flatly.

They all rolled their eyes and headed to the Farmer’s Market where all the different restaurants had stands. They chose what they wanted and reconvened outside to eat in the sunshine.

They were halfway through the meal when something _strange_ happened.

Across the Golden Fields, a rainbow _appeared._ Now, it didn’t appear like it shimmered into being. No. It appeared as if it had been spilled down from the sky (that was mostly clear still) and rammed into the ground.

“Is that?” Regina asked.

“Normal?” Melody finished.

“That’s not scientifically possible,” Elsa said.

It didn’t fade away either. It stayed there, exceptionally bright and vibrant.

As one, they got up and walked over finishing their meals. When they arrived at the base of the rainbow, they received no more answers.

Near the base of the rainbow pranced a being. They were dressed in a green jacket with an equally green top hat, and had two arms and two legs and one head, but that’s where the similarity to humans ended. For one, this being had grey brown fur all over their body. Their feet were cloven like a goats. They had a tail. And set in their rather beaky face were two big black eyes like, well, a spider.

“Krampus,” Brittany murmured.

They all looked at her confused.

She shrugged.

Lily approached cautiously. “Excuse us, good neighbor, is there something wrong?”

“Wrong!” The being’s voice was definitely male. “Yes. Much wrong. Rainbow crash. Rainbow gold go flying all over. Chaun flung to ground.”

“I’m sorry,” Lily said. “That sounds painful and terrifying.”

“Sounds like sabotage.”

“Brogan!” Chaun waved his fist and jumped up and down. “Brogan hate Chaun. Wants Chaun’s rainbow gold. Get gold. Chaun give gift. Gold scattered in dirt.”

The girls looked around, and sure enough, scattered around the area were piles and piles of dirt.

“So, if we go through the dirt and get the gold, you’ll give us something in return,” Lily said just to make sure.

“Fair. Chaun get gold. You get gifts.”

Right then. The little being or Krampus was gruff and short, but Lily didn’t have a reason not to think he wasn’t being honest. He was being pretty clear after all.

“And if we see Brogan?” Brittany asked.

“Capture. Bring to Chaun. Chaun deal with Brogan.”

That seemed reasonable. They didn’t want to get involved in a feud between Krampus leprechaun creatures.

The girls scattered to the different mounds to rummage through them for rainbow gold.

“Not what I thought I’d be doing today.”

Thankfully, it wasn’t difficult to find. They brought it back to Chaun who had a selection of items they could trade the gold for like he had a shop in magic space.

Chaun turned his head like a bird and seemed happy enough with what they’d returned to him. “Chaun go now.” He said and hopped onto the end of the rainbow and it drew upwards back into the sky.

“Okay, that was weird,” Lily said.

“Only on Jorvik,” Tyra said.

“Like, are we just going to accept that happened? We, we talked to a leprechaun,” Abigail waved her hands.

“Krampus,” Brittany corrected.

“Is there a difference?”

“Yes.”

“Does it matter?”

Brittany bit her lip. “For the sake of this discussion, no.”

“Right. And found his gold for him? Like, I’ve heard at gold at the end of the rainbow,” Abigail trailed off again.

“I need to wash my hands,” Lily said.

“We should pack the heavy gloves.”

“You think he’ll come back?”

“Well, he’s not the only one running around and it is Rainbow Week and if this,”

“Don’t say his name!” Brittany interrupted. “Do you want to call him to you?”

“If it makes him easier to find.”

“It’s not like the rainbow damaged anything.”

“Other than our sanity,” Elsa said.

Lily ignored them. She strode off to get her horse and headed to Steve’s farm. A quick use of the water bucket cleaned up her hands. The other girls joined her. Thankfully, they were all in short sleeves. There were some grass bits sticking to knees, but mostly they were fine. It wasn’t like the dirt had been damp.

Kate raised her brows at seeing all of them. “Do I want to know?”

“If you see a rainbow ending in a field, there’s a little guy named Chaun at the end that needs help retrieving his rainbow gold.”

“Are you ill?” Kate asked.

“You’ll see.” Lily warned. They went and got their charms, a rainbow with a cloud that now felt more ironically appropriate, from Steve. “Oh, and there might be another one named Brogan running around. I want to make a teddy bear,” she said brightly before Kate could respond and leaving her horse at the stable, she headed into town to see Daxton.

The other girls fervently agreed.

“Pack thick gloves,” Tyra warned.

Kate stared after them. “Well, that happened,” she murmured.

Making teddy bears with Daxton was soothing and grounded them back into reality. Harold had plenty of cookies for dessert. And Lance and Lillith were rocking it out on the steps of the Village Council house.

They really weren’t that bad.

They’d drawn a crowd too.

But they’d promised Jojo they’d go back and listen to her sing and sewing teddy bears by hand took a lot of time. And if they didn’t go now, they’d be late. So, they grabbed their horses and headed back to the festival area in Moorland.

On the way between Steve’s Farm and castle, one of the girls scouted a bit of red where red wasn’t supposed to be. “There he is!” She shouted.

The red thing stopped scurrying about, stiffening.

It looked almost exactly like Chaun, except it was wearing a red coat and a red felt flat topped conical hat with a long tassle.

“Get him!” Another girl shouted.

Wisely, Brogan took off at a sprint. He was fast, but the girls on their horses were faster and knew the area better.

They cut him off.

“Hello,” Lily smiled. “You must be Brogan. Chaun is unhappy with you.”

“Chaun greedy.” Brogan stomped his cloven hoof foot and then jumped up and down. “Keeps all rainbow gold for himself. Brogan likes gold too. It shiny!”

“Uh huh, it’s not nice to crash his rainbow though.”

“Brogan get rainbow gold,” Brogan said with a smirk showing off his pointy teeth.

“Red cap,” Brittany breathed in horror.

“I thought Chaun was a Krampus.”

“This is a Red Cap type Krampus.”

“Do you mean fae?”

Brittany waved a hand at the other girl when she realized Brogan was staring at her.

Lily cleared her throat.

“Help Brogan!” Brogan wheedled. “Get gifts in exchange for rainbow gold.”

The girls pursed their lips and looked at each other.

Brogan wanted dandelions. Not that he would explain what he wanted dandelions for. They needed to bring him dandelions.

Lily was suspicious. But they went and got him some dandelions.

As soon as he got them, Brogan cackled and disappeared with a pop.

“Oh, that!” Regina waved her arms.

Brittany sighed. “He wasn’t very specific was he.”

“Oh, I will nail his little hooves to the floor.”

“That will kill him,” Brittany sing songed.

“So, they are fae.”

Brittany shrugged. “They didn’t lie. I’d say they might as well be fae.”

“Well, we’ll have to be quicker if we see him again,” Lily said.

They rejoined the now much larger crowd. Jojo’s last set went through sundown and the sky turned dark. They used their cellphone lights like lighters, and waved them in the air. As she finished her last song, a huge display of fireworks went off behind the Silverglade Castle.

Jojo jumped and spun around. Her eyes widened. She squealed and waved her arms about how _awesome_ it was. They overheard her say she couldn’t believe they’d done a rainbow themed fireworks show just for her.

Lily rolled her eyes. They’d given Jojo a schedule. The fireworks had been on the schedule.

No one was willing to burst Jojo’s bubble and tell her it wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> List of appendixes if you want explanations on the world building, design, and some handy pictures: https://ginny0.wordpress.com/the-appendixes/


End file.
